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LIVES 



QUEENS OF ENGLAND 



BEFORE THE 



NORMAN CONQUEST 



MRS. MATTHEW HALL 
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BOSTON: 

BROWN, TAGGARD, & CHASE, 

1859, 



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INTRODUCTION 



These volumes, it is believed, will be found to present the first 
connected outline of the history of Royal women prior to the 
Norman Conquest. Most readers are acquainted, through the 
medium of Miss Strickland's admirable work, with the personal 
memoirs of Matilda, Queen of the Conqueror, and her successors, 
who were united by the tie-matrimonial to our English monarchs ; 
yet who can trace even an outline of the life of Editha the Good, 
her contemporary and predecessor on the throne ? Of the stormy 
and troubled history of Queen Emma, who was wife of two kings, 
and mother also of two, and who first introduced her Norman 
countrymen into England, still less is known : nor are there to be 
found any connected details concerning the wives of those Saxon 
kings who laid the foundation of our English laws and institutions. 
No one has been found to go back beyond the era of the Conquest 
to search amid dusty and worm-eaten records for details illustra- 
tive of. the vast mine of history, with all its hidden stores of wealth, 
from the first to the eleventh century. Investigation has com- 
menced from a point more lucid, when Norman conquerors im- 
posed the Doomsday Book as a lasting token of their power. 

"Woman, possessing, as she ever does, an all-powerful influence 
over the events of her day, has thrown a bright light over the 
dark history of the first eleven centuries of our annals, and during 
that period we discover a succession of important historical events 
which have occurred through her instrumentality. Were not 
Roman taste and luxury first made popular in Britain through 
the influence of Cartismandua, and progressively developed under 
subsequent female sovereigns, her successors, during the Roman 
domination, not the least remarkable of whom was the Empress 
Julia, wife of Severus ? Where, in the whole history of this 

(ix) 



X INTRODUCTION. 

country, is there a page to be found more glorious than that de- 
voted to the British St. Helena, the Empress-mother of Constan- 
tine the Great, the self-devoted wife, the patroness of Christianity, 
the discoverer of the true cross, the builder of churches, the mother 
of the oppressed, — the glorious career of whose influence has, in 
a thousand ways, directly and indirectly, descended to our own 
times with her name and history ? Deeply contrasted with these 
incidents are those forming the groundwork of the life of Boadicea, 
in whom we behold an instance of the native simplicity of a Briton 
by birth and education : her fine womanly nature, aroused by 
unheard-of wrongs to revolt against tyranny and injustice, burst 
forth, like a torrent which deluged the whole land with blood, into 
that train of actions which had nearly quenched forever the power 
of Rome in this island. The family details of Boadicea's history, 
of whom much has been written, have never before appeared in 
connection with her life, and without the knowledge of these it is 
impossible fairly to appreciate the exciting details of her sufferings 
as woman, wife, and mother — in the delineation of her character, 
no fiction can arrive at the all-powerful force of simple truth. 

Passing over Rowena, through whom was introduced the Saxon 
sway, we may remark that it was to the most excellent and pious 
Queen Bertha, a Frenchwoman of royal rank, that we were in- 
debted for the primeval establishment of Christianity in Saxon 
Britain. That faith had, indeed, at an earlier period been intro- 
duced and cherished by royalty, but had fallen into disuse. From 
the time, however, when Bertha set the example, queens and 
princesses stood forth as the champions of the new creed : it be- 
came then fashionable to be a Christian ; and that same land which 
had alone, through the merciful intervention of St. Helena, escaped 
the persecution of Dioclesian, became distinguished for examples 
of holy votaries to the faith of Christ. Not content with exer- 
cising every domestic and social virtue themselves, these Saxon 
females animated their husbands and lovers to a similar self- 
devotion in the cause of religion. Many, indeed, of these sceptred 
women dedicated their whole existence to a religious state of se- 
clusion. Then it was that kings laid aside their crowns and robes 
of state, and, assuming the monastic garb, at the exhortation of 
then royal partners, undertook pilgrimages to the Holy See, 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

founded schools or endowed churches, which yet remain to attest 
their munificence. Such was the spirit which pervaded the Saxon 
Heptarchy, though the picture had sometimes its dark reverse, as 
in the characters of Quendrida and Ermenhurga — and later still, 
the singularly beautiful and wicked Elfrida. Each of these royal 
ladies, whether good or bad actions marked her career, has her 
own appropriate niche in the annals of the past ; and possessed 
her peculiar influence over the times in which she lived — an in- 
fluence more or less descending to our remote age, though in few 
does the benefit conferred on society shine more conspicuously 
than in that gentle and amiable queen, mother of Alfred the 
Great, by whose beneficent attention to the education of her sons, 
some of the brightest rays of light have been shed on our English 
literature. 

Such are a few of the leading features of a period comparatively 
unknown, and which cannot fail, it is hoped, to prove a useful 
study to those who desire an introduction to the History of Eng- 
land ; for these personal records of the wives and daughters of 
our early monarchs, form naturally the connecting links between 
many public events which would otherwise remain detached and 
unintelligible. 

The history of British female Sovereigns before the period of 
the Conquest had necessarily to be drawn from chronicles which 
present many legendary records, and which grave writers have 
sometimes rejected, perhaps too unsparingly ; for, as a learned 
translator* has observed, even legends are of value in recording 
the history of past times, and in them the germ of important 
events connected with the establishment and progress of religion 
may be found. But for the Sagas we should know little of the 
early habits of northern nations; and to more than one ballad are 
we indebted for an historical fact, which might otherwise have 
been forgotten. To the perseverance and study of recluses, who 
spent their whole lives in producing one work, we owe much gra- 
titude ; that they were generally guided by a spirit of truth we 
cannot doubt, as they were aware that their labours would become 
known to many a contemporary and rival in whose power it was, 

* Benj. Thorpe, F. S. A. ; Introduction to Lappenberg's Anglo-Saxons. 



XU INTRODUCTION. 

even at that day, to confute a writer, if lie asserted more than 
had been handed down by tradition : at all periods there were 
critics as well as authors, and, as almost every monastery could 
boast of its learned historian, there was no want of jealous obser- 
vation of the productions of their literary brethren amongst the 
monks who filled up their leisure with similar pursuits. 

To the bards, who sang their compositions from country to 
country, was intrusted the sacred task of relating great events : 
they kept alive in their songs the valiant deeds of heroes ; their 
lays were faithfully repeated by the scribes, who committed them 
to writing, and, as time wore on, chroniclers sprang up, who, by 
diligent study, were able to understand and explain much that 
had become obscure to the uninitiated. The famous Abbey of 
Glastonbury produced the earliest historian of Britain, who, in 
the middle of the sixth century, set an example, followed almost 
uninterruptedly in other monasteries through several ages, till the 
little less than miraculous invention of printing rendered learning 
and information easy. 

Milton, our greatest and most erudite poet, did not disdain the 
old legends of the early chroniclers, and has preserved in his 
history much that it is delightful to read of, and pleasant to be- 
lieve ; and our immortal dramatist sought at the same sources the 
subjects on which to frame his glorious imaginings. 

From the lays of the Welsh bards, from Gildas, and Geoffrey 
of Monmouth, down to the latest publications which have thrown 
light on the history of the early British reigns, nothing has been 
neglected in the work now presented to the public which might 
conduct to truth, and offer a clear and interesting series of records 
of those female Sovereigns whose lives are so much less familiar 
to the English reader than others of a later period, who have 
found able recent biographers. 



CONTENTS. 



CARTISMANDUA, 

QUEEN OF CTMBELINE. 



Page 



Parentage of Cartismandua — Her father Afarwy leaves Britain — His daugh- 
ter horn — Cymheline's education — Marriage of Cartismandua — Early 
habits of splendour — Her arrival in Britain — New coinage of Cymbe- 
line — Children of Cartismandua — Adminius rebels, and flies to Rome — 
Death of Cymbeline — Cartismandua's possessions — She marries Cadal- 
lan — Intermarriages of their children — Caractacus — Habits of the northern 
tribes — Bericus — British produce — Invasion by Claudius — Cartismandua 
friendly to the Romans — Re-married to Venusius — They betray Carac- 
tacus — Cartismandua separates from Venusius, and marries his shield- 
bearer — Indignation of the British — Wars with the Scots — The Queen 
is taken — Her death — Corbred's wars 25 



BOADICEA, "THE WARLIKE, 



QUEEN OF ARVIKAGUS. 

The Pictish Princes — Cadallan — Metallanus — Boadicea's claims on British 
sympathy — British mothers — The Castle of Maidens — Education — Mar- 
riage and wrongs of Boadicea — Caractacus rouses himself — Arviragus 
throws off the Roman yoke — Defeat of the Britons — Roman triumph — 
Will of Prasutagus — Manner in which it was respected — Seneca as usurer 
— Outrages of the Romans — Rage and grief of the Britons — Boadicea's 
resolve — Corbred moved to help ner — Insolent answer of the Romans — 
Taking of Mona — Boadicea's magnificent speech and prayer to Adraste — 
The hare — Preparations for the fight — Camalodunum — Omens — Fate of 
the city — Successes — Cruelties — St. Albans taken — The Wheel of For- 
tune turns— Reaction— Defeat of the Britons — Death of the Queen 44 

2 (13) 



XIV CONTENTS. 

GWENISSA THE FAIR, 

SECOND QTJEEN OF ARVIRAGUS. 

Page 

Political influence of Women — A Deputation sent to Rome to fetch Gwenissa 
as the bride of Arviragus — Customs of Roman betrothals — Gwenissa's 
family — She is supposed to be illegitimate — Lines of Harding on the Mar- 
riage of Arviragus and Gwenissa — The flowery mead — Gloucester built in 
honour of the event — Crowns of gold — The Emperor Claudius returns to 
Rome — Festivities in his honour — Beauty of Gwenissa — The love of her 
Husband for her — Its transient duration — He breaks with Rome — Gwe- 
nissa as Winner of Peace — Vespasian remains in Britain — Asserted visit 
to Britain of Joseph of Arimathea — The Twelve Hides of Glaston — 
Change in the fortunes of Gwenissa — Arviragus forsakes her for Boa- 
dicea — She dies of grief in giving birth to her son Marius 73 



JULIA "DOM IN A," 

EMPRESS OF SEVERUS. 

Julia born in Phoenicia — Julia Mcesa, her sister — Beauty and talents of 
Julia Domina — Her abstruse learning — Her ambitious views — Her 
arrival at the Imperial City — She is noticed by the Empress — Her suc- 
cess — Her admirers — Severus — The Augury — The Marriage of Julia — 
Children of Severus — Caracalla and Geta — Eastern Expedition of Severus 

— Julia becomes Empress — They go to Britain — Advance to Caledonia 

— Difficulties and Trials on the Campaign — Fulgent laj r s siege to York — 
Cruelty of Severus — Superstition of the Emperor — The Court at York — 
Luxury and pomp — The Emperor's death — Enmity of the Antonines — 
Return to Rome — Fratricide — Grief of Julia — Severity of Caracalla 

— Supposed marriage to her Step-son — His Murder — Julia dies — Her 
Sister's children — Her character as regards Britain 



VICTORIA,* VITURGIA, AND HUNILA, 



EMPRESSES OF BONOSUS AND PROCULUS. 

Zenobia and Victoria — Influence of both — Character of Victorinus — His Mur- 
der, and that of his Son — Marius chosen by the Empress — His history and 
fate — Posthumus succeeds — iElianus — Tetricus appointed by Victoria — 
Constantius Chlorus in Britain — Victoria's sudden death by the treachery 
of Tetricus — Aurelian's Roman triumph — Viturgia and Proculus — Bonosus 
the Pedagogue — His rise — Aurelian bestows Hunila upon him — He pro- 
claims himself Emperor of Britain, Gaul and Spain — His death — Probus 
settles a pension on Hunila 

* The name of the Empress Victoria's husband has not been handed down to posterity. 



CONTENTS. 
ST. HELENA, 

QUEEN OF CONSTANTIUS CHLORUS. 



Daughter of Coel, the ILawk-faced — Particulars of her birth — Her accom- 
plishments and virtues — Constantius in Britain — Carausius — Romantic 
stories of Helena — Disputes as to her birth — Colchester claims the honour 
— She marries Constantius — Her children — Reverses — Galerius and Vale- 
ria — Constantius and Theodora — Maximian — Helena's self-devotion — 
Empty honours — Constantine at Rome — The four Empires — York — 
Character of Constantius — Persecution of Christians — Theodora's chil- 
dren — Constantia — Death of Constantius — Excellent conduct of Helena 
to Theodora — Power she enjoyed — Fausta and her father — The Plot dis- 
covered, and its punishment — Policy of Helena — Expedition of Constan- 
tine against Maxentius — The Cross — Conversion of the Emperor — Cities 
founded in honour of Helena — Helena's writings — Tragedy of Fausta 
and her son — Helena undertakes the care of the children of the Emperor 
— At eighty, Helena undertakes her journey to the East — The finding of 
the Cross — Relics — Her death — Honours to her memory — Traces of 
Helena in Britain — Her Causeway 103 



CARTANDIS, 

QUEEN OP EUGENIUS I. 

Eugenius slain in battle — Decree of Maximus — Prayers of the widow and 
noble ladies — The Picts interrupt their devotions — Appeal of Cartandis to 
Maximus — His generous sympathy — He sends her escorted to Carrick — 
Attack of Pictish robbers — She returns to the Emperor — Enmity of the 
Picts — Their remonstrances — Scene of the Picts and Cartandis before 
Maximus — Her agony and entreaties — Success of Cartandis through the 
good feeling of the Emperor 162 



'HELENA AP EUDDA, 

EMPRESS OF MAXIMUS. 

Parentage of Helena— The aspirants for her hand — Her Father wishes her 
marriage — Maximus proposed — Conan objects, but consents at length — 
Deputation — Character of Maximus — He arrives at Southampton — Pro- 
mise, and ceremony of Marriage — Dream of Maxen-Wledig, a Welsh ro- 
mance— Caernarvon— The Fort — The Will — Kynan-Meriadec of Armorica 
— Maximus and his bride at Treves— St. Martin of Tours — The devotion 
of Helena to him — Gratian's fate — Ursula and the "Eleven Thousand" 
victims — Successes of Maximus— Reverses — His death, and that of his 
son Victor — The Tears of Helena, and her Fountain 165 



CONTENTS 



ROWENA, 



SECOND QUEEN OF VORTIGERN. 

Page 
Vortigern, hoping to establish order in Britain, invites Hengist and Horsa — 
Arrival of the Saxons— The feast at Thong Castle— The fatal Was-heil— 
Rowena's beauty — Dress of Saxon ladies — Marriage of Vortigern — His 
first wife — Gods of the Saxons — The Irminsula — Discontent of the Britons 
— Excommunication and separation — Vortimer proclaimed King — Fury of 
Hengist — Rowena's artifices — She poisons Vortimer in a nosegay — Vor- 
tigern consults Merlin — History of Ambrosius — The fortress in Snowdon 
— The massacre at Ambresbury — The Valley of Vortigern 178 



GUENEVER I. 



QUEEN OP ARTHUR. 



The beauty of the three Guenevers — Parentage of Arthur's first Queen — 
The Earl of Cornwall — Tintagel Castle described — Uther the Terrible, and 
his love for Igwerna — The Merlins — Gorolois and his wife — Uther mar- 
ries the widow of Gorolois — Birth of Arthur — The Comet — Pendragon 
— Love of Arthur for his wife — She is carried off by the Duke of Somerset 
— Confined at Glastonbury — The Abbot obtains her release — She accom- 
panies Arthur in an expedition against the Scots — First of the Twelve 
Battles — Guenever taken prisoner — She dies at Castle Dunbar — Tomb of 
Guenever and her maidens ,,.... 189 



GUENEVER II., 

QUEEN OF ARTHUR. 



Bridal festivities of Guenever, daughter of Uther ap Credawgal, at Carlisle 
— Arthur's Chamber— The Round Table— The Knights— The salt— The 
minstrels — Their accomplishments — The lady in her bower — The sweet 
key of Gwynedd — Customs at feasts — Grandeur of Arthur — Arthur a 
Christian — Arthur and Guenever in Brittany — The Fairy Morgana — The 
Coronation at Caerleon — Concourse of Kings — Guenever and the White 
Pigeon — Great ceremonies — Dubricius struck with the vanity of worldly 
grandeur — Retires to a cell — Arthur desires to be buried beside Guenever. 196 



CONTENTS. XVU 

GUENE VE R III., 

QUEEN OF ARTHUK. 

Pa£,e 
Guenever, daughter of Gogauranus— The sisters of Arthur — Curious story 
of Feldemia and her friend — The children exchanged — The invasion 
— The "hag's" visit — Explanation and secresy — Change in the manners 
of Arthur and his Court owing to the Pictish Princess — The enchanted 
mantle — Queen Guenever's disgrace — Sir Cradocke's triumph — The Three 
Battle-Knights of Britain — The Three Gift-Horses— The three Chaste 
Women— The fatal horn— King Mark's Queen— Tristan and Iseult— Queen 
Guenever and Lancelot — King Arthur's Castle at Camelot — His Courts — 
The King's nephews — Schools for British youth — Arthur quits his Court 
— Mordred's conduct — Battle of Camelford — Morgwenna and her maidens 
— Arthur's death — Constantine's cruelty — Guenever retires to Caerleon — 
Interred there — Discovery of Arthur's tomb 205 



BERTHA, 

QUEEN OF ETHELBERT. 

The daughter of Caribert — The two maids of honour — Dangerous confidences 
— The entertainment given by Ingoberga to her husband — The wool-spin- 
ner — The King's anger — The Queen's divorce — Her rival's advancement — 
The Queen retires to a convent — Bertha's education — Proposals of mar- 
riage from King Ethelbert of England declined on account of religion — 
Mirofleda supplanted by her sister — Excommunication and death of Cari- 
bert — Consent of Bertha, and arrival of the newly-married pair in England 
— Reside at Canterbury — Bertha's zeal in the Christian faith — Pope Gre- 
gory and Augustine — Fear of the Roman missionaries — Ethelbert receives 
them well, and becomes a convert — Churches — The Pope's letters — Con- 
version of Redwald — Story of Edwin — Bertha's death — Epitaph — Ead- 
bald's remorse — He marries Emma 219 



ETHELBURGA "THE SILENT," AND ENFLEDA, 

QUEENS OF EDWIN "THE GREAT" AND OSWY. 

Marriage of Ethelburga to Edwin — Paulinas — His zeal — The Life of Edwin 
attempted — A daughter, Enfleda, born — She is dedicated by her father to 
God — Pope Boniface — His letters — Coiffi, the priest — His famous speech 
and act — Edwin becomes a Christian — Hilda first appears — Numerous 
converts in Northumberland — Edwin's progresses — The Tufa — Edwin 
killed in battle against Penda — Eadfrid murdered — Ethelburga seeks pro- 
tection with her brother, the King of Kent, accompanied by Paulinus 
She sends her sons to France: they die there — She founds a nunnery, 
and takes the veil — Her acts of charity — The Danes — Enfleda demanded 
in marriage by Oswy — The voyage and the jars of oil — The marriage — 
Enfleda builds the Monastery of Tinemouth — Wilfred — Enfleda's daughter 
dedicated to God — Csedmon, the poet — The Synod at Whitby — The mother 

and daughter — The spirit of the Abbess 232 

2* B 



CONTENTS 



ST. EBBA, QUENBURGA, SURNAMED " BEBBA," AND SAXBURGA, 

QUEENS OF CWICHELME, KYNIGILS, AND CENWALCH. 

Page 
The child Ebba's adventures — She enters a convent — Marries Cwichelme — 
Seeks the court of her brother Oswald — Her influence — Quenburga — 
Birinus — Kynigils — Saxburga repudiated — Penda's vengeance — Bebba 
and Bebbanburgh — Bamborough Castle — Oswald and Aidan — The silver 
dishes — Oswald's charity — The blessing — The Hermit's adventure — Os- 
wald slain — The limbs of Oswald — Ostrida his niece — Ebba the Saint 
— The double Monastery — Saxburga and her husband reconciled — Con- 
versions — The Plague — The Queen Regnant 246 



OSTRIDA AND WERBURGA, 



QUEENS OF ETHELRED AND CEOLRED. 



Ostrida marries Ethelred, the youngest son of Penda — Elfwin slain — Arch- 
bishop Theodore endeavours to reconcile the Kings — Ostrida removes 
the bones of Saint Oswald — Abbey of Bardney — The miracle of the pillar 
of light — The standard — Embroidery — The spinsters — Visit of Ethel- 
hild — Holy dust — Its effect — Ostrida slain — Ferocity of the times — Ethel- 
red abdicates — He becomes Abbot at Bardney — Kenred makes a pilgrim- 
age to Rome — Werberga enters a convent , 256 



QUENBURGA, QUENSWITHA, AND ALFLEDA, 

QUEENS OF ALFRED, PENDA, AND PEADA. 



The daughters of Penda — Penda's warlike propensities — Queen Keniswitha 
accepts the care of Oswy's son — Quenburga's marriage — Peada and Al- 
fleda — Stipulations — Peada baptized at Carlisle — Penda's opinions — 
Influence of females in conversion — Quenburga's devotion — Court of 
Alfred a monastic school — Alfred's death — Quenburga returns to her 
father's dominions — Retires to Dormund Caistor — The three sisters all be- 
come nuns — Penda's death — Death of Peada — His wife, his mother, and 
his mistress suspected of his murder — Oswy seizes his dominions — Two 
young princesses take the veil 261 



CONTENTS. XIX 



HERESWYTHA, SEXBURGA, ETHELDREDA, ERMENBERGA, 
and ERMENILDA 

QUEENS OF ANNA, ERCOMBERT, EGFRID, AND WULPHERE. 

Page 
Religious enthusiasm — Church building — Queen Hereswytha, "the mother 
of many Saints" — Her husband, King Anna — Etheldreda and Thonbert — 
She retires to a monastery — Her second marriage to Egfrid — Their esta- 
blishment — Egfrid's remonstrance — Etheldreda goes to a convent, accom- 
panied by Bishop Wilfred — Architecture and Church Music patronised 
by Wilfred — Anger of Egfrid — Their separation : he re-marries — Ernien- 
burge persecutes Wilfred — Anglo-Saxon carriage — Wilfred's trials — Sex- 
burga's piety — Her daughter — The Abbess Hildelitha — The Convent of 
Minstre — Ermenilda's, and her young daughter Werburga's, piety — Murder 
of the young princes, Wulfade and Rutin — Werburga's profession — The 
Abbess Etheldreda's edifying death — St. Audrey's lace, and St. Ethel- 
dred's chain — Ely Monastery — Sexburga's happy death — The butterfly 
shadow — Miracles — St.Werburga, the Patroness of Chester — Ely Cathe- 
dral — Antiquities — The stone cross of Etheldreda 265 



DOMNEVA, 

QUEEN OF MEROWALD. 

Lady Eva — Marriage with the son of Penda — The Queen takes the veil in 
her husband Merowald's life — She founds the Abbey of Minstre, to atone 
for the murder of her brothers by Egbert — " The Deer's course" — Pious 
ruse — Fate of Thunor the murderer — The humility of Mildred — Leobgitha's 
verses — Gold and silver ink — The Abbess Eadburga — The letters of St. 
Boniface to the pious Abbess — The Danes — Mildgitha retires to Estrey — 
Estrey Court — The sepulchres of the murdered princes there — Mildburga 
and her father — Their tombs in the Abbey of Wenlock 283 



ETHELBURGA AND FRIDOGITHA, 

QUEENS OF INA AND ETHELARD. 

Invasion of Ivor and Ina — Conditions of the Conquerors — Marriage of Ethel- 
burga to Ivor — His death, and her marriage to his successor, Ina — The arch 
of Taunton Castle — Ealdbryht Clito besieged by Ethelburga — The " Wes- 
tern Key of the Kingdom" — The Laws of Ina — Guala — The learned men 
of Ina's time — The Abbey of Glastonbury, and its rich endowments — 
Ethelburga's pious project — The splendid banquet and the contrast — Its 
effect on the King — Discourse of Ethelburga — The Crown resigned — Ethe- 
lard — Preparations for a pilgrimage to Rome — Departure of the King and 
Queen as pilgrims — Arrival in Rome — Religious acts — The Saxon school 
of Ina at Rome — Romescot — Return to England of the royal pair — Death 
of Ina — Ethelburga at Barking — Cuthberga, Abbess of Wimbourne — Ca- 
nonization of the Abbess-Queen — The three daughters of Ina — Frido- 
githa's liberality — Her piety and pilgrimage — Her death and canoniza- 
tion—St. Frideswide 289 



XX CONTENTS. 

QUENDRIDA-PETRONILLA, 

QUEEN OF OFFA " THE PROUD." 

Page 

Melo-dramatic legend of Quendrida — King Offa screened by monkish writers 
— Unknown crime of Petronilla — Exposure in an open boat — Stranding 
of the beautiful stranger on the Welsh coast — Meeting of Offa and Quen- 
drida — Fascination of the young King — Opposition of his parents — The 
royal marriage — Death of both Offa's parents — Offa's early deficiencies — 
Sudden change — Beornred's wars — His defeat — Offa's dyke — The Empe- 
ror Charlemagne — His letters and presents to Offa — Demand in marriage 
of Prince and Princess — Interruption of the friendship of the two Kings 
— Close of the French ports — Alcuin the Learned — Harmony re-esta- 
blished — The Princess Eadburga's marriage — Young Ethelbert, King of 
East Anglia — His proposal for the hand of the beautiful Etheldritha, 
youngest daughter of Offa — Excellent character of Ethelbert — His arrival 
in Mercia — Omens — Rich gifts and grand retinue of the bridegroom — Ethel- 
dritha, at her window, admires the beauty and grandeur of her lover — 
Quendrida's envy and hatred — Offa's welcome — The Queen's treacherous 
proposal — The chair of state — The canopy and the well — The murder ac- 
complished — Despair of the bride — Her anathema — She leaves her 
father's court — Offa's remorse — Banishment of the guilty Queen — The 
spoils she took — Robbers — Her deserved fate — Offa builds cathedrals — ' 
The shrine of St. Ethelbert — Divine judgment on Offa's race 296 



EADBURGA.— ELFLEDA, 

QUEENS OF BERTEIC AND WIMOND. 

Pride of Eadburga — Prince Egbert's banishment — He seeks shelter with 
Offa; is refused hospitality — Flies to the court of Charlemagne^- The 
Queen's influence; her jealousy, and vindictive character — Infatuation of 
her husband — Her hatred of Worr — Her attempts to ruin him — Resist- 
ance of Bertric — The banquet — The poisoned cup — Death of the King 
and his friend — Flight of the Queen — She seeks the court of Charlemagne; 
is well received there at first — Her beauty and her gifts — Change of pub- 
lic estimation — Charlemagne's sarcastic offer — The incautious reply of the 
widow — The Emperor's contempt — His bestowal of a convent on her — 
Her conduct as Abbess — Her expulsion and degraded position — Her arri- 
val at Pavia and destitution — Her death in misery — Her quaint epitaph 
— Detestation of her memory — Title of Queen not allowed by Anglo- 
Saxons — Egbert's succession — The contrast of the sisters — The Abbess 
of Cioyland — Witlaf's sojourn and gifts; his attachment to Etheldritha — 
The Danes— Elfleda, daughter of Kenulf— Her son Wistan— Rejected offer 
of Berferth— Murder of Wistan 307 



QUENDRIDA II. 

The grand-daughter of Offa's Queen — Her great abilities and the high position 
she holds in the state — She is left guardian to her young brother Kenelm 
— Her sister Burganilda attached to the young King — His tutor Ascobert— 



CONTENTS. XXI 

Page 
The traitorous designs of Quendrida on the life of Kenelm — Ascobert 
agrees to aid her plans — Kenelm's dream — His uneasiness — He informs 
his nurse, who interprets it — Aware of his danger, he removes to a secure 
place — The Castle of Kenilworth chosen as his abode — The family of the 
Kenelms — The hunting excursion to Clint Wood — The murder of the 
young Prince, and concealment of his body in a pit — Quendrida mounts 
the throne — Is suspected by the people — Driven from the government, 
which is given to her uncle Kenulf — She assumes a religious habit, but 
retains her patrimony, the Abbey of Winchcomb — Touching legend of the 
revelation at Rome of the death of Kenelm — Discovery of the body — Ca- 
nonization of the murdered Prince — Chapel built — Quendrida's scorn — The 
judgment of Heaven on her — Her death 312 



OSBURGA AND ETHELS WYTH A, 

QUEENS OF ETHELWULF AND BURHRED. 

The mother of Alfred the Great — Earl Oslac, her father, cup-bearer to 
King Ethelwulf — Wars with the Danes — The King first intended for the 
Church — His choice of the cup-bearer's daughter — Her virtues and indus- 
try — Needlework of the Anglo-Saxon ladies — The five sons of Osburga 
— Her daughter Ethelswytha married to the King of Mercia — The title 
of Queen revived — The Danes overrun Mercia — Subdue Burhred, and 
force him to abandon his country — He dies at Rome — His Queen follows 
him, and dies on the road — Alfred's infancy — Prayer of Osburga — The 
story of the illuminated book of Saxon verse — The children's anxiety — 
Alfred's resolution and success — The pilgi'image to Rome of Ethelwulf, 
accompanied by his young son — Uncertainty respecting Osburga — Ethel- 
wulf's return with Judith, the French princess — Death of Osburga 318 



JUDITH OF FRANCE, 

SECOND QUEEN OF ETHELWULF. 

Motives of Ethelwulf for his visits to the Court of Charles the Bald — Beauty 
of the Princess Judith — Attachment of Count Baldwin of Flanders — Ethel- 
wulf's offer accepted — Splendid Marriage of Judith to Ethelwulf — Royal 
presents — Ethelwulf takes his bride to England — They are ill received — 
•Ealstan, Bishop of Sherburne, excites Ethelbald to rebellion — Offence 
given to the Church — Ethelwulf proclaims Judith Queen, in despite of op- 
position — Ethelwulf yields to his son to avoid bloodshed — Judith crowned 
— Prayers on the occasion — Alfred and his young mother-in-law study to- 
gether in retirement — Ethelwulf 's death — Ethelbald forcibly marries his 
widow — Displeasure of the people and the clergy — He becomes penitent 
— Separates from Judith — She sells her dower, and travels, on her re- 
turn to her father's court, through Flanders — Meeting of Judith and 
BaMwin — Consequences of her stay — Anger of Charles the Bald — She is 
placed in a convent — Rescued by her brothers — Elopes with Baldwin — En- 
mity and final forgiveness of the French King — The children of Judith — 
Matilda, wife of William of Normandy — Ballad of the imaginary adven- 
tures of the "King's Daughter" 323 



xxii CONTENTS. 

ELSWITHA, QUEEN OF ALFRED THE GREAT, AND 

ETHELFLEDA, "lady of mercia," 

Page 

Romantic legend of the meeting of Alfred the Great and Elswitha — Alba- 
nac's family — The nocturnal visit — The daughters — The father's resolve — 
The choice offered — Marriage of Alfred and Elswitha — Sudden illness of 
the bridegroom — Connubial affection — Passage in Boethius — Famine in 
England — St. Swithun — Children of Elswitha — Her happiness, and fond- 
ness for her husband — Athelney — The Danes — Dangers — Generosity of 
Alfred — Monastery founded — Alfred's Will — Eadburga and Elswitha — 
St. Mary's, Newrninster — Learning of Ethelfleda — Lady of Mercia — Her 
numerous fortresses — The captive Welsh Queen — Fleance, son of Banquo 
— Ancient Welsh customs — Candle-bearer's perquisites — Death of Ethel- 
fleda — Mourned by King Edward — Elfwina dispossessed by her uncle — 
Ethelfleda buried in St. Peter's, Gloucester 337 



EGWINA, ELFLEDA, EDGIFA, AND ELFGIFA, 

QUEENS OF EDWARD "THE ELDER," AND EDMUND "THE PIOUS." 

Romantic tale of Athelstan's mother — The loves of Egwina and Edward — 
Dream of the Shepherd's daughter — The nurse of the King's children — 
Adoption of Egwina — The bright light — Edward's second wife Elfleda; 
her seven children — His third wife Edgifa — Edgifa's lawsuit and will — 
Athelstan and Beatrice — Goda's dishonesty — Education of the family of 
Edward the Elder — Eadburga the nun : her choice — Edward's death, and 
his son Ethelwerd's — Athelstan named as successor — 'He provides for 
his family — Beatrice marries Sihtric, King of Northumberland — Edgifa 
marries Charles the Simple — Her trials and story — Edgifa and Elfgifa sent 
to Germany — Their marriage-list of the sisters — Hugh the Great and 
Edilda — The marriage presents — Revived fortunes of Edgifa and her son, 
Louis d'Outremer — Restoration and imprudence — Harshness of Louis to 
his mother — The widow of Edward the Elder still goes on with her lawsuit 
— Edmund the Pious — St. Dunstan — The precipice — Elfgiva — Legend — 
Explanation of the dream — Edmund assassinated — Reay Cross on Stan- 
more — Monasteries— Edred and St. Dunstan— Edwy the Tyrant ; his ill- 
usage of his grandmother — Edgar re-establishes her in her rights — She 
bestows her property on the church — Her death 351 

ETHELGIVA, 

QUEEN OF EDWT " THE FAIR." 

Ethelgiva's relationship to the young Prince Edwy the Fair — Her extreme 
beauty — St. Dunstan's character and history — His contentions with the 
Devil; his temptations and triumphs — The fame of the Saint — St. Dun- 
Stan's mortification to find the young King married — The forced corona- 
tion—Flight of the King— Anger of the nobles — Rage of the Bishops — 
Discovery of the weeping Bride — Insults to Edwy and Ethelgiva — Pas- 
sionate words of the Mother of the young Queen — Fury of Dunstan — 
Sympathy of the People for the Royal Pair — Ethelgiva refused the title of 
Queen— Edwy's dislike to the ambitious Prelate — The evil spirit at Glas- 
tonbury — Flight of Dunstan — His dangers from his enemies, the married 



CONTENTS. XX111 

Page 
priests — Security of the Royal Lovers — Seizure of Etbelgiva : horrible 
vengeance — She is sent to Ireland — Odo's representations to the King — 
His despair — His troubles — His brother Edgar — Recall of Dunstan — 
Divorce pronounced against Ethelgiva — Excommunication of Edwy — Re- 
covery of Ethelgiva, and attempt to return — Waylaid on her journey — 
Hamstrung and starved to death — Broken heart of Edwy — He dies — 
Buried at Winchester 366 



ELFRIDA, 

QUEEN OF EDGAR "THE PEACEABLE." 

Edgar's volatile Character — Wulfreda, the nun — Ethelflede the Fair, mo- 
ther of Edward — Her death, and Elfrida's beauty — Ethelwold's mission — 
His deception, and marriage to Elfrida — Misrepresentation to the king — 
Ethelwold's son — Hunting — Tbe tribute of wolves' heads — The concealed 
beauty — Ethelwold's confession to his wife — Her resolve — Her conquest — 
The murder in the forest — Marriage of Edgar and Elfrida — St. Dunstan — 
Elfrida's power — Contentions — Ventriloquism — Ely — Ordwulf, the giant — 
Dissolute clergy — Coronation at Bath — King Edgar's death — Edward 
the Martyr — His cruel murder — Ethelred's tears: the whipping with wax 
candles — Pledging — Miracles — Penitence of the Queen postponed — Saxon 
verses — Dunstan's anathema — Murder of Brithnoth, Abbot of Ely — Ethel- 
red asserts his will — Elfrida returns to Warewell — Her religious edifices 
— Wulfredp ejected from Barking — Death of Elfrida — Royal grant to the 
convent 374 



EMMA OF NORMANDY, 

Surnamed " tlie, Pearl." 

(JU1E.1 OF ETIIELRED "THE UNREADY" AND CANUTE "THE GREAT." 

The Pearl of Normandy — Parentage of Emma — Quarrels settled — Emma's 
Marriage with Ethelred, 1002, at Winchester — She receives the popular 
name of Elfgiva — Unsuitableness of Ethelred — His personal appearance — 
The songs of Gunnlaugr the Scald — The Sagas : their value — Danegelt, its 
odiousness to the English — Massacre of the Danes on the Eve of St. Brice 
— Gunilda's fate — Her anathema — Emma's sorrow concealed — The ne- 
glect of Ethelred towards his wife — She appeals to her brother — Anger 
of the Duke of Normandy — Reconciliation — Hugh and Alwyn — Siege of 
Exeter — Oath of fealty to Emma's unborn babe — Birth of her son, Edward 
the Confessor — Alfred, the eldest son, set aside on account of a prophecy 

— Emma flies from the troubles in England, with her children, to Nor- 
mandy — Remains there two years — They are followed by Ethelred — "Un- 
ready" a title fitting for the weak King — London Bridge is broken down 

— Edmund Ironside — Algitha at Malmesbury Abbey — Death of Ethelred 

— Canute marries Emma — Her weight in gold — Influence of Emma — 
Mutual attachment — Danish Dandies — Drinking-cups — Back-gammon — 
Poets — Story of Canute and his courtiers — Splendid gifts to abbeys — 
The King'3 verso — Vauland, the smith — Hardicanute and Gunilda — King 
Olaf — Death of Canute — Earl Godwin's power — Treacherous letter to 
Emma's sons — Murder of Alfred — Suspicions — Harold — Emma's exile 
and return — Hardicanute — The gilded ship — The dwarf Mimicon — 
Death of Hardicanute — Edward succeeds — His conduct to his mother — 
The trial of the ploughshares — Triumph — Death of Emma.. 394 



XXIV CONTENTS. 

EDITHA THE "GOOD," 

QUEEN OF EDWAKD "THE CONFESSOR." 

Page 

" Rose among thorns" — Earl Godwin's romantic and eventful story — The 
Jarl Ulf in the forest — The peasant-boy — King Canute's new soldier — His 
advancement — Marries Githa; made Earl — Thora and the slave trade — 
Bristol the mart — Godwin's connexion with royalty — Editha's beauty and 
meekness — The compact of Earl Godwin — Delays of King Edward — His 
dislike to the match with Editha — Their marriage — Edward's coldness — 
Dress and manners of the time — Splendour of priests — Wulstan's reproof 
— Long hair — Editha's humility — Her coronation — King Edward's vows — 
Unkindness to his Queen — The Queen's spiritual friends — Westminster 
Abbey founded — Editha's pious donations — Leofrina's will — Curious stone 
picture on the screen at Westminster Abbey — Quarrel of Tostigand Harold, 
when boys, represented — Installation of Leofric, Bishop of Exeter — Famine 
— Edward remits the tax of Danegelt — Rupture with Earl Godwin — Flight 
of Godwin and his family to Flanders — His banishment — Triumph of the 
Normans — Imprisonment of Queen Editha — Bishop Robert's accusation 
— A year of seclusion at Wherwell — Weakness of Edward — Godwin's 
triumphal return — Restoration of his party — The Queen returns to Court 
— Her triumph — Earl Godwin's sudden death — Edward sends for the son 
of Edmund Ironside — His arrival and death — Editha accused of cruelty 
— Royal chaplains — Dedication of Waltham Abbey — Bore-stall — Havering 
Bower — The pilgrim and the ring — Dedication of St. Peter's, Westmin- 
ster — The King's death — Harold succeeds — Battle of Hastings — William 
the Conqueror — Editha's epitaph 438 



EDITHA "THE FAIR, 



QTJEEN OF HAKOLD II. 

The father of Editha — Godiva, wife of Leofric — Wealth and power of the 
Earl of Coventry — The famous legend considered — Leofric's munificence 
to the Church — The lines in the painted window — Godiva's donation to 
Coventry Abbey — Algar, father of Editha the Fair, flies to Wales — Mar- 
ries his daughter to the Welsh Prince, Griffith ap Llewelyn — Nest, his 
first wife — Her sons — Griffith ap Conan and his wife Angharaud — Violent 
contentions of the Welsh and English — Restoration of Algar — Harold pur- 
sues the Welsh — Defeats them — Lays siege to and burns Ruddlan Castle — 
Editha the Fair taken prisoner — Death of Griffith — Harold marries his 
widow — Hereford destroyed and re-fortified — Harold's pillars — His breach 
of promise to Adeliza— Harold becomes King — The battle of Hastings — 
The search for the body — Editha the Swan-necked — The Recluse of Ches- 
ter — Eddeva Dives — Her possessions seized by the Conqueror — Stortford 
in Hertfordshire — The tomb discovered 462 



LIVES 

OF 

BRITISH QUEENS 

BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 



CARTISMANDUA. 



Parentage of Cartismandua — Her father Afarwy leaves Britain — His daughter 
born — Cymbeline's education — Marriage of Cartismandua — Early habits of 
splendour — Her arrival in Britain — New coinage of Cymbeline — Children of 
Cai-tismandua — Adminius rebels, and flies to Rome — Death of Cymbeline — 
Cartismandua's possessions — She marries Cadallan — Intermarriages of their 
children — Caractacus— Habits of the northern tribes — Bericus— British pro- 
duce — Invasion by Claudius — Cartismandua friendly to the Bomans — Re- 
married to Venusius — They betray Caractacus — Cartismandua separates from 
Venusius, and marries his shield-bearer — Indignation of the British — Wars 
with the Scots — The Queen is taken — Her death— Corbred's wars. 

The first British Queen, whose life offers any interest, after the Roman 
Invasion, is Cartismandua. 

She is said to have been great-grand-daughter of King Lud, the eldest 
of the seven sons of Beli the Great, the heroes of the famous bards, 
Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch Hen, and their followers, whose compositions 
may be ascribed to the sixth century. 1 

Lud is a favorite with early chroniclers, and his name is preserved 
somewhat conspicuously in that of the capital of England. 2 

The father of Cartismandua was Mandubratius, or Afarwy, the son of 
Imanuentius, Prince of the Trinobantes, or people of Middlesex and 
Essex, whose contentions with the victorious Cassivellaunus, or Caswallon, 
led to the devastation of the country and the successes of the Romans. 

1 Lappenberg's Hist, of England under the Anglo-Saxon kings. 

2 Nennius, Abbot of Bangor, wrote his Historia Britonum about the year 858, 
and speaks of earlier works to which he was indebted. He is indignant at the 
name of Troynovant being replaced by that of Lud's Town, as he insists on the 
tradition, of which the Britons were long proud, of a descent from Brutus, grand- 
son of iEneas; "a fabulous national tradition of Rome;" observes Dr. Lappen- 
berg, " with the faded tinsel of which the vain Britons adorned themselves," in 
appropriating it to their own nation. 

3 (25) 



26 CARTISMANDUA. 

Afarwy had made overtures to Caesar in Gaul, offering him the means 
of a second attempt on the country, which offer was gladly accepted ; 
and Afarwy and his son Scseva, together with thirty others of his rela- 
tions and adherents, placed themselves in the hands of the Romans as 
hostages, and afterwards accompanied the conqueror on his return to 
Rome, when Cassivellaunus had been forced to submit to the yoke of the 
powerful strangers, whose absence from his country he sacrificed much to 
obtain. 

It is not known whether Afarwy had a wife with him when he quitted 
Britain; but it is supposed that, if so, after her death he espoused a 
Roman lady, according to the policy adopted by Caesar, to secure the 
friendship of the islanders. Cartismandua, there is reason to think, 1 was 
the offspring of this second marriage, and it was in Rome that she mar- 
ried her cousin Cymbeline, one of the hostages, who, being in due time 
called back to Britain to assume the royal sway, was accompanied by his 
bride on his return to the land of his nativity. 

Although no particulars of the childhood of the daughter of Afarwy 
have been handed down to us, the early years of Cymbeline, her husband, 
have not been suffered to rest in the shade by historians. The hero of 
Britain, as he afterwards became, and who has been made familiar to us 
by Shakspeare, was, when a British hostage, educated in Rome, that most 
polished of cities, and, like the youths his companions in the same cir- 
cumstances, received eventually an appointment suitable to his rank. 
Various offices were indeed assigned to the Britons. 

Cicero, with true Roman contempt, speaks of Britain in his time as a 
country from which slaves only could be procured, — alluding to certain 
captives who had been sent by their conquerors to the circus, where, no 
doubt, their novel appearance would at that day excite as much interest 
as any barbarian exhibited on our own stage would do; or the orator 
might speak in reference to certain Britains appointed to carry the litter 
of the Emperor, — a post certainly, if ignoble, requiring fidelity to his 
person. Cymbeline could scarcely be included in Cicero's contemptuous 
notice, for he not only received a noble education, but was appointed to 
attend in person on the Emperor Augustus in his wars ; in which service 
he became so distinguished for his valour, that he was rewarded with the 
honor of knighthood, which carried with it certain peculiar and enviable 
distinctions. 

The Eques, or Roman knight, was permitted to wear rings on his fin- 
gers, which no inferior person might display. He was also entitled to 
wear a dress embroidered with broad guards and studs of purple, which, 
together with the horse he rode, were provided by the Senate. The Bri- 
tish coins of Cymbeline bear the horse-rampant, which shows how proudly 
the prince regarded the Imperial favour. The Roman knight who had, 
like Cymbeline, conducted himself valiantly in time of war, if a stranger 
and auxiliary, as in his case, was rewarded with a chain of gold, while 
a citizen of Rome could only gain a silver one by his valour. By such 
distinctions the Roman emperors attached foreigners to their service, — a 

1 Carte. Roberts' British History. 



CARTISMANDUA. 27 

politic measure, as was proved by the firmness with which the husband 
of Cartismandua continued friendly to the lloman interest. 

An especial dignity was also enjoyed by the wives of the knights of 
Rome : to this Cartismandua must necessarily have been admitted. The 
knowledge of the early associations of the future Queen of the Britons 
may serve to explain, in some degree, many of the circumstances of her 
afier-life. She was brought up in all the pomp and splendour of a luxu- 
rious court, with the throne of Augustus ever before her eyes, and the 
riches, glory, and honours of the Roman nation continually present to 
her view. At that time, love of dress and display was carried to a most 
inordinate height in the Imperial City, and we find Pliny reproving with 
indignation the monstrous disorders which had crept into the world, fol- 
lowing up his remonstrances thus : " But say that women may be allowed 
to wear as much gold as they will, in bracelets, in rings on every finger- 
joint, in carcanets about their necks, in earrings pendent at their ears, in 
stays, wreaths, and chin-bands ; let them have their chains of gold as 
large as they list under their arms, or cross over their sides, scarf-wise ; 
aud say that gentlewomen and mistresses may have their collars of gold 
thickly beset and garnished with massive pearls, pendent at their neck, 
beneath their waist; that even in their beds, when they should sleep, 
they may remember what a weight of gold they carry about them ; must 
they therefore wear gold upon their feet, as it were to establish a third 
estate of women, answerable to the order of knights, between the matrons 
or dames of honour, and the wives of mean commoners ?" From this 
passage it would appear that golden ornaments on the feet were permitted 
to Roman knights, — a privilege no doubt prized by all who formed 
part of the community. Cartismandua, among the rest of the ladies who 
were married to Roman knights, must have incurred the censure of the 
historian. It is not surprising, on reflecting to what a height of luxury 
the ladies of the period had arrived, that in after-times she should have 
disdained the simple manners of her uncultivated British subjects; and 
she may be excused if her heart should have reverted and clung in later 
years to those among whom she had known her earliest enjoyments. The 
love of splendour in dress must have become habitual to her, and it was 
but natural that she should sigh for scenes of gaiety so congenial to 
youth. Cartismandua cannot justly be blamed for this weakness so com- 
mon to her sex and breeding, nor can it be imputed to her as a crime 
that she preserved to the last day of her existence her faithful attachment 
to Rome. This latter feeling was also strongly inculcated and recipro- 
cated by Cymbeline, who is said to have made himself so dear to the 
Emperor that he was saluted by the honourable title of " Friend to the 
Commonwealth;" and on his return to Britain, Augustus granted him 
permission either to pay or receive remittance of the tribute imposed by 
Caesar on the Britons, according to his own pleasure. Cymbeline did not 
avail himself of the generous offer, being desirous to preserve the friend- 
ship of the Romans, and to secure for the British youth an opportunity 
of continuing to make their residence at the capital, where there were so 
many opportunities of obtaining an enlightened education, the advantage 
of which he had himself fully experienced. 



28 CARTISMANDUA. 

It would be curious to follow the route of Cartismandua and her hus- 
band, in that early age of Britain's annals, when they journeyed towards 
the land over which the death of Tenantius, Afarwy's brother, had called 
them to rule. There were then no facilities of travel, and the difficulties 
were greater than we can now well conceive. The usual passage from 
Gaul to Britain appears to have been from Boulogne, in Belgic Gaul, to 
Sandwich, or from Calais to Dover as at the present day. There has 
been a question as to what description of vessel was used for the service 
of passing the narrow seas ; but those antiquaries who contend for the 
coracle, a frail bark only used for rivers, could have been but little aware 
of the nature of the Channel. There were, probably, vessels of sufficient 
weight and power to render the navigation comparatively easy to less ex- 
perienced sailors than our own ; and, of course, all the resources of art, 
as it then existed, would have been employed, that the royal pair should 
arrive on their own shores with becoming pomp. 

But it was probably at the port of Dowgate, 1 on the Thames at Lon- 
don, that Cartismandua and her husband landed, and from that spot 
commenced a triumphant entry into the city in one of those chariots, 
gorgeously painted and adorned with silver, which historians have 
described with minuteness. 2 

As Cynibeline was a Roman knight, the distinguished friend of Augus- 
tus, and a descendant of their own royal family, both himself and Cartis- 
mandua must have been welcomed by the Britons with every honour 
which it was possible for them to offer. 

Lud's Town, or London, had even then arisen to considerable impor- 
tance as "the resort of merchants" and residence of the chief of the 
Trinobantes, of which state it was the capital. It is said to have con- 
tained more dwellings than any other town in Britain ; and simple as 
these were as far as architecture is concerned, they were important in their 
kind: the Britons did not employ stone for the construction of their 
dwellings till taught the art of architecture by Agricola, 3 nor was glass 
used for architectural purposes till some time after the Saxon invasion. 
The feeling which touched the heart of the noble Caractacus, when he 
viewed the Roman splendour, might have cast a shade on that of Cartis- 
mandua when she first beheld her own future regal abode. Caractacus 
is said to have ' exclaimed : "How is it possible that a people possessed 

1 Holinshed. 

a Mauda, Queen of Connaught, the contemporary of Cartismandua, is described 
as leading her troops to battle, seated in an open chariot, with her crown of gold 
on her head ; [Cassar brought with him from Britain a corslet richly adorned with 
British pearls, which he dedicated to Venus. This was one of the spoils which 
gave the Romans an idea of the riches of Britain. The Scottish and Irish kings 
wore crowns of gold.] the royal car which conveyed her being accompanied by 
four chariots, one before, another behind, and two on either side, attended by a 
great retinue of chariots and horses ; while the Queen herself is described as 
having been apprehensive lest she should contaminate or defile the golden crown 
and her royal robes with the dust raised by the horses' feet, or the foam proceed- 
ing from the mouths of the fiery steeds. See O'Halloran, O'Flaherty, &c, and 
"Titles of Honour." 

3 Howel. 



CARTISMANDUA. 29 

of such magnificence at home, could envy me a humble cottage in 
Britain !" The rough warrior had passed his whole life amid these 
humble, yet, to him, happy abodes of barbarians, whom Diodorus describes 
at this time as characterised by simplicity, integrity, temperance, and a 
proneness to dissension. Caractacus looked oniy on their noble qualities; 
but Cartismandua had quitted all that art, wealth, and luxury could com- 
bine to make life enviable, and like a tender exotic, had been removed 
from that warm and genial soil, to breathe the air of a land, the customs 
of which were opposed to all her habits, and which reminded her at each 
fresh step of what she had left behind ; that she shrunk from her allotted 
destiny, was not therefore surprising. 

The royal residence of Dinas Beli, the Palace or Court of Belinus,' 
was a structure in Lud's Town, which extended over the Broken Wharf 
into the city, till it approached the Gate of Belinus, its royal founder, 
brother of the Brennus who headed the Gauls and sacked Rome in the 
time of Camillus. The words Ludgate and Billingsgate 2 are familiar in 
our own days ; and Holinshed assures us, that in his time there were yet 
remaining the ruins of the Old Palace of Belinus, which had been 
patched up and converted into warehouses. Belinus's gate was on the 
banks of the Thames, and is said to have been once surmounted by the 
king's image, while his ashes were preserved in a golden urn contained in 
the gateway, beneath which was a haven or quay for ships, it being one 
of the chief gates or entrances into the capital. Livy, the historian of 
the Court of Augustus, 3 and contemporary of Cymbeline and Cartisman- 
dua, has related the history of Brennus, brother of King Belinus, as 
Plutarch has also done in his account of Camillus. In the Palace of 
Dinas Beli, probably, the royal pair were accordingly installed as their 
future residence. 

One of the first acts of Cymbeline in Britain, was to issue an entirely 
new coinage of tribute-money, bearing the initials of his own name; which 
was a great advance in art for the Britons, who, up to that time, had 
been accustomed to use rings of brass and iron, wrought to certain degrees 
of value, for money, 4 as had been customary among the early Greeks. 
Many specimens of the coins of Cymbeline, his head crowned with a dia- 
dem of pearls, may still be seen in the cabinets of antiquaries. No less 
than forty gold, silver, and copper coins of this king, of different dies and 
moulds, have been discovered, — a proof of the extent to which coinage 
was carried in his reign. 5 Cymbeline is thought to have derived the art 
itself from his intercourse with the Romans : certain it is, that civiliza- 
tion, 6 during his reign, increased with rapid strides in the land under his 
rule. 

The inscription Cimog on some of the coins of Cymbeline, gave rise to 
the Cemog, or Denarius, which may be considered the only coin which has a 
truly British name; and the word Tascio on the reverse, signifies the 
Mint or Treasury. 

1 Humphrey Llwyd's Breviary of Britain. 2 Holinshed. 3 Milton. 

4 Rapin. s Pegge's Essay on the Coins of Cunobelinus. 

« Rev. P. Roberts on the Early History of the Cymry, or .Ancient Britons. 
Britton and Brayley. 
3* 



30 CARTISMANDUA. 

Cymbeline was the first British monarch who stamped his image upon 
his coins, sometimes with two faces, like Janus, whose temple was closed 
during his reign. Six of these coins have the obverse only, with the in- 
scription Cuno; and two more, one of which was only found in March, 
1849/ among a number of gold coins, at the Whaddon Chase, have upon 
them a horse and wreath ; that which was last discovered, was in weight 
180 grains; on the reverse was a horse-rampant, an evident allusion to 
the dignity enjoyed by Cymbeline as a Roman Eques ; and on the obverse 
was a thistle or ear of wheat, doubtless an intimation that corn was sup- 
plied to the Romans with the tribute-money. 

As the greater number of the coins of Cymbeline have been dug up 
near Colchester, and bear, besides the monarch's initials of Cuno, the 
letters Camy upon them, it is thought that that city was the royal seat 
of power, as indeed is expressly stated by Dion Cassius. Maiden in Es- 
sex, and Malton in Yorkshire, have laid claim to being, in former times, 
the royal residence of British monarchs, 2 each having borne the name of 
Camalodunum — a mark that Cymbeline at some period resided there, 3 
and that the town so named was capital of some district belonging to him : 
thus, not only were there several Camalodunums, but several cities bear- 
ing the name of Venta ; Norwich was the Venta or Winchester of the 
Iceni, and Winchester, now known by the name, was Venta of the 
Wiccii. 

No remains of antiquity can perhaps better convey to the mind the 
choice of situation selected by our early ancestors for the abode of mon- 
archy, than that spot amidst the Chiltern Hills, in Rockinghamshire, 
where still appears a high circular mound or keep, in circumference about 
eighty paces, known to the present day as " Kimble's Castle;" 4 while a 
little adjacent village bears the same king's name, in defiance of the wreck 
of time and lapse of centuries. The romantic situation of this strong post 
would no doubt render it a favourite residence of the Romanized monarch 
Cymbeline and his consort. From the summit of Belinsbury Hill, which 
constituted a part of the territory adjacent to this ancient British fortress, 
we may imagine the eyes of Queen Cartismandua roving at pleasure over 
an almost boundless prospect of surpassing beauty. In which of the royal 
British abodes Cartismandua lived is, however, uncertain ; or where her 
children, namely, five sons and one daughter, were brought up. 

Adminius, the eldest son, in after times, having offended his father, 
was exiled the country ; on which he placed himself under the protection 
of Caligula, then Emperor of Rome, who, at his suggestion, undertook 
that fictitious invasion of Britain, which terminated in the gathering a 

1 Bucks Herald, March 17, 1849. a Allen's History of York. 

3 Dr. Henry assures us that Cymbeline held his court at Maiden, which was 
formerly celebrated for its beauty and magnificence, though only two Roman 
coins have been found in its vicinity, one of which is held so precious that it is 
carefully guarded by the bailiffs of the town ; both are of the time of the Em- 
peror Claudius. 

* " The ancient name of the village of Kimble, whenever it occurs in our re- 
cords, is written Kynebel or Cunobel, and in the Domesday Book is Chene- 
bella." — Lynons. 



CARTISMANDUA. 31 

few shells 1 on the coast of Gaul, with which he triumphantly returned to 
Home. After this, no more is heard of Adminius , but the Roman wri- 
ters extol his merits, with those of his brother Togodumnus, who be- 
friended their interest ; while they preserve a profound silence as to Ar- 
viragus 2 and Guiderius, their brothers, who became afterwards bitter 
enemies of Rome, and for whose actions our own native historians are the 
authorities. 

This circumstance must have embittered, in no small degree, the do- 
mestic happiness of Cartismandua and her family ; for the son, who thus 
disappointed their hopes, was the first-born, and heir to the name and 
royal honours of the house of Cymbeline. That good king himself, 
nevertheless, preserved his faith unbroken with Rome during a long 
reign, which passed usefully to his subjects, and peacefully to both him- 
self and them. Indeed, peace and plenty seem to have marked the era 
of Cymbeline; yet prosperity did not corrupt him, as is too commonly 
the case ; and it may be presumed that the married life of Cartismandua 
and her lord, glided smoothly and serenely on with the fair current of 
time. After a long and glorious reign, Cymbeline died, much regretted 
by his people; his death being, as they rightly judged, a national loss. 

Cartismandua was no longer young at the time of becoming a widow ; 
for her husband had reigned as many as fifty years, according to some 
authorities. 3 

It was customary in Britain, on the death of a monarch, for his widow 
or daughter to succeed to the government, if there were no sons ; but in 
this case, there being several princes to inherit the dominions of Cymbe- 
line, they were divided into three portions, of which one was given to 
Togodumnus, another to Caractacus, while the third portion fell to the 
widow, their mother. It is, however, uncertain whether either of these 
states was considered tributary to the other as a minor principality. Laws 
of Adminius, the eldest of Cartismandua's children, have also been found ; 
but this would rather lead us to suppose he had possessed some share of 
power during his father's life, and tributary to him, prior to the event 
of his banishment, which might have led to the act of rebellion that 
occasioned his father's displeasure. 

The territory inhabited by the Iceni 4 was the district which fell to the 
share of Cartismandua; and this is the first time that a people afterwards 
so celebrated are named in our histories, Cymbeline being expressly said 
to have been "King of the Iceni," and the Iceni themselves are men- 
tioned as having studiously laboured to preserve their amity with the 
Romans. 

Norfolk and Suffolk, afterwards distinguished by the name of East 
Anglia during the Saxon Heptarchy, may be considered as the property 
by right of inheritance of Cartismandua, and where she probably retired 
on her widowhood. 



Dr. Henry. » Lewis's History of Great Britain. 

Rapin and Henry say Cymbeline reigned thirty- 
Morant, a.d. 42. 
Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and Huntingdon. 



3 Rapin and Henry say Cymbeline reigned thirty-five years : he died, according 
to Morant, a.d. 42. 



32 CARTISMANDUA. 

The Iceni were not less likely to be faithful allies of Rome, now that 
Cartismaudua reigned over them ; aud it may be remarked that female 
government was exceedingly popular at all times in Britain. 1 The fact 
of the near vicinity of this British district to that part of the country 
known under the name of Brigantia led to very important results, and 
opened out a train of events which involved in agitation all the subse- 
quent period of Cartismandua's life. The latent ambition of the character 
of Cartismandua appeared, unrepressed, after her widowhood ; for such 
must have been the motive which actuated her in her union, shortly after 
Cymbeline's death, with the Chief of the Brigantes. The mother, by 
Cymbeline, of a numerous family, Cartismandua could not have wanted 
scope for the exercise of her affections, and at her mature age, no other 
reason can be assigned than that she desired still to extend her power. 
The noble character of Cadallan, Prince of the Brigantes, it must be 
confessed, might well have won her affection, and may have swayed her 
choice. Whatever the motive on either side might be, this alliance was 
entered into, and from that time Cartismandua becomes known to future 
history as Queen of the Brigantes. 

The celebrated district called Brigantia or Galloway, consisted of the 
large portion of country which extended from the mouth of the Humber 
to the wall afterwards built by Adrian across the whole breadth of the 
island, and was inhabited by a chosen body of the Scottish nation, ap- 
pointed to guard this frontier province from the incursions of the southern 
Britons, then considered their mortal enemies. This brave, hardy, and 
adventurous people were distinguished above every other British tribe 
for their love of liberty, and fought to maintain it as late as the eightieth 
year of the Christian era, long after all their fellow-countrymen had sub- 
mitted to the Roman empire. 

Brigantia contained many places of great strength and importance, 
amongst which were Aldborough or Iseur, in Yorkshire, Eboracum or 
York, afterwards the seat of Roman power in Britain, Carictonium, and 
Epiake. 2 

Cadallan, chief of the Brigantes, the new husband of the widowed 
Queen of Cymbeline, was guardian of the young King of the Scots; he 
had been formerly married to Europeia, a sister of Metallanus, afterwards 
king, by whom he had several children, the eldest of whom was the 
famous hero,Caractacus, and the youngest, Boadicea, afterwards so celebrated 
for her heroism and misfortunes. 3 It is rather remarkable that two princes 
should have been conspicuous at the same time in our annals, each bear- 
ing the name of Caractacus, one the son, the other the step-son, of Car- 
tismandua; a circumstance which has created no small confusion among 
historians: that they are quite different persons, may be plainly esta- 
blished on examining the particulars of their times with attention. 

^ The precise date of the marriage of Cartismandua to Cadallan is not 
given, but it was shortly followed by other alliances among their families 
not less important; the Brigantine princess Boadicea being given in raar- 

1 Tacitus. a D'Anville. Hutchinson's Durham. 

3 Scott, Anderson, and Nesbitt. 



CARTISM ANDUA. 33 

riage to Arviragus, son of Cartismandua, while his sister became the wife 
of Caractacus, son of Europeia, who, perhaps to distinguish him from his 
contemporary and namesake, the King of the Britons, was designated 
Urickfras, or the Strong-armed. These ties no doubt were intended still 
further to strengthen the states of Britain, and on the part of the Brigan- 
tines, to fortify themselves against Rome in case of necessity; but 
unfortunately events did not occur in the course which had been 
anticipated. 

One of the first important changes was the death of Metallanus, King 
of Scots, who leaving no children, the throne devolved upon Caractacus, 
his nephew ; for the laws relative to succession among the Picts were dif- 
ferent from those of the Celtic and Teutonic nations, the sons inheriting 
by right of their mother : ' thus Caractacus obtained the crown as the son 
of Europeia; by his elevation the daughter of Cartismandua became the 
Queen of the Scots, — a brilliant event in the life of her aspiring mother. 
But it must be named that Cadallan did not himself live to witness his 
son's accession to power ; he died at an early period after his uuion with 
Cartismandua, leaving his consort with entire control over the kingdom 
of Brigantia, now hers in her own right, 2 which, joined to that of the 
Iceni, gave her as much influence throughout the island as could possibly 
be enjoyed by either her children or step-children. 3 Well might the heart 
of the Roman Queen of the Britons be lifted up, in beholding her noble 
and fortunate offspring blessed with peace, prosperity and power, and her- 
self the friend and ally of a nation so mighty as that of Rome ; as an in- 
stance of the esteem in which she was held, it is recorded that a large 
sum of money had been lent to her husband Cadallan by that people, — a 
circumstance which, though gratifying in the beginning, in the end 
proved disadvantageous to her interests. 

Some account should here be given of a people so singular as the new 
subjects of Cartismandua, — the Brigantes, who are said to have been the 
same tribe as the Meatoe, who eventually settled north of the Wall of 
Adrian. 4 

The Caledonians and Meatae, in war and peace, closely resembled each 
other. Their arms of warfare consisted of a short spear, a broadsword, a 
dirk, and javelin, with a small target for self-defence. They had neither 
towns nor villages, houses nor towers ; living only in huts, they, like the 
Britons of the south, had for their subsistence, chiefly milk, the flesh of 
cattle, and the game killed by their own hands. They were swift and 
sure-footed, could patiently endure toil, and every hardship. They had 
horses which were small in size and fleet, and were accustomed to use 
chariots in warfare, in which they rushed to the thickest of the battle. 
It is related that in long marches they used a preparation, a quantity of 
which, no bigger than a bean, sufficed to prevent all sense of hunger and 
thirst. They were in the habit, like the Britons, of painting and tattoo- 
ing their bodies, whence they are thought to have obtained the name of 
Picts. In war they cast aside the wolf-skins, which they were accus- 

1 Palgrave. Q Dr Henry. 3 Carte, &c. 

4 Ridpath's Border History. 



34 CARTISMANDUA. 

tomed to wear over their left shoulder, girt with leathern thongs,' and 
appeared on the field of battle almost naked, like the Roman gladiators, 
wearing round their neck, collars or torques, formed of twisted iron wire, 
which they regarded as great ornaments, and prized as highly as the 
other British tribes did theirs of silver and gold ; 2 their greatest pride 
was to exhibit their skins punctured as they were, and painted with the 
figures of divers animals, flowers, and the heavenly bodies. 

There is every reason to believe that the pictures represented on the 
body of each individual were an index to his history, and like the hiero- 
glyphics of the ancient Egyptians, handed down records from generation 
to generation. 3 Such an art, rude as it was, displays no small ingenuity 3 
this opinion is corroborated by the fact, that these figures were after- 
wards transferred to the shield or banner of the person to whom they be- 
longed. The "marks of the Britons," as they were called, 4 may be re- 
garded as a personal species of heraldry, often recognisable in their 
names, as in that of " Pen-dragon," the appellation of the family of 
King Arthur of renowned memory, — the head of a dragon being hi& 
device. 

It is remarkable that nearly all the ancient British names were expres- 
sive of colour; 5 and Camden, who makes this observation, adds that 
" the most common names of the Britons at present, Gwyn, Du, Goch, 
Llwyd, were derived from white, black, red and russet; so that it seems, 
not at all extraordinary that the whole nation should have taken then 
name from the several tints used in the general practice of painting them- 
selves : and the inhabitants also, both ancient and modern, take theii 
name from colours." The plants called madder were not only in constant 
requisition for home use, but, next to tin and wool, constituted a great 
article of commerce with the continent; it was thought by Pliny to have 
been the same as the plantain of Gaul. Not only married women, but 
young maidens, are said to have anointed and dyed their bodies with the 
juice of this plant; some indeed stained themselves all over with its 
deepest dye, till they became, in colour, like Ethiopians, — a fashion much 
esteemed. In this guise they attended solemn fasts and festivals, with- 
out any other attire, 6 though this seems to have been only the practice 
for certain offices of religion. 

Such was the people amongst whom Cartismandua, refined by birth, 

1 Hutchinson's Durham. 

a Smith and Meyrick. Howel's Med. Hist. Angl. ; and Herodian. 

3 0' Flaherty says the figures were printed with ink, by iron marks. 

4 By Tertullian, " Britannorum stigmata." 

6 The following list is given on the authority of Camden : — 

Cogidumnus and Argentocoxus contain coch or goch, red. 

Mandubratius, Cartismandua, Togodumnus, and Bonduca contain dti, black. 

Venusius and Immannentius contain gwyn or uen, white. 

Cuniglas contains glas, blue. 

Cingetorix and Arviragus contain aure, or gold colour. 

Some of the above names were derived from the Romans, as the word werith, 
green, from viridis, by which the identity of the names Arviragus and Prasuta- 
gus is proved, werith and prasinus both signifying green. 

s Pliny, Speed. 



CARTISMANDUA. 35 

education, and association, found herself in command. A change at this 
time seems to have taken place in her character, and brings it out in a 
stronger and less pleasing light than it has hitherto appeared. 

From the period of the banishment of Adminius, Rome had become a 
rendezvous for all disaffected Britons. Bericus, a rebel, who had fled 
thither, having been received and protected by the Emperor Claudius, 
who refused to deliver him up on application from Togodumnus, King 
of the Britains, that prince was so offended, 1 that when the next applica- 
tion was made by the Romans for the tribute-money, they met with an 
indignant refusal, and were, moreover, so fiercely attacked by the pas- 
sionate Guiderius that they scarcely escaped with their lives : in their 
haste, they fled to the shelter of those fortresses they had prudently esta- 
blished to guard against a sudden surprise. 2 

The Britons followed up this attack by prohibiting all commerce with 
Rome. 3 The news of this decree annoyed the Romans greatly, as much 
of the British produce had become necessary to them ; particularly the 
metals, 4 which they prized highly. Pliny says that the best mirrors were 
anciently made with a mixture of copper and tin ; and that in his time 
those of silver were so common, that they "were used even by the 
servant-maids." These metallic mirrors were very much in request 
amongst ancient nations. The Egyptian women, whenever they went 
to their temples, carried one in their left hand. 

Pliny observes that such was the luxury of the Romans, that it was 
simply reckoned a piece of elegance to consume, in the ornaments of 
coaches and the trappings of horses, metals which their ancestors could 
not use even in drinking vessels, without being astonished at their own pro- 
digality. Nero and his wife shod their favorite horses with gold and silver. 

We learn also from Pliny, that the lead mines of Britain were very 
productive during the first century, especially that at Comeristwith, in 
Wales; so much so, that the Britons had limited the amount of the 
yearly quantity to be wrought and transported over the sea. Pliny 
relates a marvellous story of one of the miners and a favourite crow, 
which was so tame, that it daily flew and followed him wherever he 
went. " This man, being one day at work in a valley where the first 
mine was known to be, laid his purse and girdle beside him, and set to 
work earnestly, according to his usual custom. The crow kept flitting 
about him, till it molested him so much that he got angry and menaced 
the bird. The crow, on this, seized the girdle and purse in its beak and 
flew away. The man, in despair, at the thought of losing his money, 
threw aside his tools, and set off in pursuit. By this he saved his life, 
for be was scarcely out of the mine when it fell in and killed all his fellow- 
workmen." 

British wicker-work, 5 also, was a commodity highly prized at Rome, 

1 Milton, Rapin, Speed. » Holinshed. 3 Ibid. 

4 Lead, in the form of ceruse, was in great request among the Roman ladies as 
a cosmetic. Flautus introduces a waiting-woman refusing to give her mistress 
either ceruse or rouge, because, in the true spirit of a flattering Abigail, " she 
thought her quite handsome enough without them." — Bp. Watson 

6 Holinshed. 



36 CARTISMANDUA. 

and much inconvenience was experienced by the Romans from the loss 
of all this produce, when Togodumnus thus checked the commerce be- 
tween the two countries. Not the least was the deficiency in payment 
of the tribute-money, so regularly transmitted by Cymbeline during the 
whole of his long reign ; for though the Romans held Britain in con- 
tempt, her money was acceptable. 1 

Claudius despatched an army to reduce Britain to obedience. Aulus 
Plautius, a man of consular dignity and great wisdom and valour, was, 
with Cneius Sentius, appointed to the command ; he was accompanied by 
Vespasian, afterwards Emperor, and various other noted persons, among 
whom was the young Titus, who in this war greatly distinguished him- 
self, and on one occasion was so fortunate as to save his father's life.' 2 
Four legions, with auxiliaries and cavalry, in all constituting a force of 
50,000, embarked for Britain, when an amusing incident occurred, — the 
soldiers beseeching Plautius, with great earnestness, " not to lead them 
against a people inhabiting a region beyond the limits of the world :" 
so barbarous were the Britons considered by these civilized Roman sol- 
diers, that Plautius had the utmost difficulty in getting them on board 
the vessels. 

On their arrival, the Romans were guided by Bericus to the parts of 
Britain inhabited by his friends ; but so bravely were they opposed by 
the natives, that although in the contest Caractacus 3 and Togodumnus 
were slain, Plautius was compelled to write off to Claudius to come to 
his assistance. 4 The aged Emperor, immediately on his arrival, advanced 
into the country of the Trinobantes, and took possession of Camalo- 
dunum. 5 After this he laid siege to the city of Winchester, where Arvi- 
ragus, who, by his brother Guiderius's death in this contest, had become 
King, had stationed himself. The Romans first besieged Venta; but 
afterwards, it was proposed to Arviragus that he should divorce his 
Queen, Boadicea, and espouse Gwenissa, the daughter of Claudius, at the 
same time acknowledging the Roman supremacy. These terms being 
acceded to, peace was agreed on between the Roman Emperor and his 
barbarian son-in-law. 

During the stay of Claudius in Britain, he is said to have endeavoured 
to reduce the Brigantes also under the Roman yoke. It is worthy of 

1 Hegesippus says, of Britain, " When we would deprive men not only of the 
privileges of Rome, but, in a manner, of the conversation of mankind, we send 
them thither, and banish them out of the world." 

a Suetonius, Milton, Dr. Henry. 

3 This Caractacus, or Caradoc, was son of Cymbeline and Cartismandua. The 
victory of Plautius, the Roman general, was honoured with an ovation, and when 
he went to Rome, the Emperor in person came forth to meet him, giving him the 
right hand all the way. 



» Claudius, aware of the terror created among the Britons by the appearance 
of an elephant, well fenced with iron, having on its back a tower full of men, 
such as Caesar had brought over with his army, caused some to be brought to 
Britain on the present expedition. On the former occasion the sight of that mon- 
strous walking battery, moving into the Thames, had effectually frightened the 
Britons from the opposite shores. — Lewis, Rapin. 



CARTISMANDUA. 37 

notice that Seneca, who is said to have lent money to the husband of 
Cartismandua, writes thus of Claudius; and Camden, 1 who gives the 
passage, considers it a clear proof that their submission was not enforced, 
but voluntary; — 

" 'Twas he whose all-commanding yoke 
The furthest Britons gladly took ; 
Him the Brigantes in blue arms adored, 
When the vast ocean feared his power, 
Restrained with laws unknown before, 
And trembling Neptune served a Roman lord." 

It was natural that Cartismandua should receive the Romans amicably, 
though the acquiescence of her subjects in an alliance with their hitherto 
hated foes, must have been rather the result of necessity than free will, 
as subsequent events proved. Whether Cartismandua was personally 
introduced to the Emperor, is not positively stated; but assuredly a 
princess known in infancy to the mighty Caesar, and educated at his 
court, would readily confirm with Claudius the friendship Cymbeline had 
during his life preserved unbroken. It is true that two of her sons had 
thrown off that alliance, and called forth the angry indignation of the 
" masters of the world," but they had paid with their lives the penalty 
of opposition. Policy clearly directed Cartismandua to avail herself of 
the Roman protection, and she appears to have seen cause to remain their 
ally and friend to the last. 

After the return of Claudius to Rome, the war broke out afresh, 
through the resentment of Caractacus at the injuries done his sister, 
Boadicea, whose cause he warmly espoused; and we afterwards find 
Arviragus, after he had become sufficiently powerful, abandoning his 
allegiance to Rome, forsaking the daughter of Claudius, and reconciling 
himself to Boadicea. Vespasian, at the head of the Romans, defeated 
the allied forces of the Britons, and fearing Cartismandua would espouse 
the cause of her children, he, after taking the city of Camelon, hastily 
marched into Galloway or Brigantia, and took possession of the city of 
Carrick. It was at that place, the capital of the territories of Cartis- 
mandua, that Vespasian received the oaths of allegiance of the Brigantes, 
who despaired of recovering their freedom. 1 Cartismandua being her- 
self desirous to maintain peace, and, moreover, indebted to them a large 
sum of money, was placed in a difficult position. Her son, whose char- 
acter proves him to have inherited her own ambition, had been forced 
into submission, Vespasian requiring him to come in his own person, 
casting aside his royal attire, and appearing in the humblest apparel, a 
suppliant for pardon and protection : this the proud Queen was obliged 
to acquiesce in, however galling she might find it. 

Not long afterwards Vespasian was recalled by Claudius to Rome, and 
we do not hear any more of Arviragus from this date, except as the ally 
and friend of the Romans, whose protection was thus secured to both 
Cartismandua and himself. 

Aulus Plautius being left at the head of the Roman affairs in Britain, 
at a time when a dangerous illness prevented his attending to the neces- 

' Mag. Brit. a Holinshed. 



38 CARTISMANDUA. 

sary duties of tbe war, the Komans were in danger of losing as much as 
they had gained, when Ostorius Scapula, a man of noble descent, and 
great experience both in peace and war, was appointed Pro-Praetor in the 
place of Aulus Plautius. He had no sooner arrived than that general 
expired at Camelon, where he was residing at the time :' he had survived 
the departure of Vespasian only two years, during which time the war- 
fare bad been carried on in Kyle and Galloway against the brave 
Caractacus. 

After the arrival of Ostorius, the Britons made a fierce irruption into 
the territories in alliance with Home, but were repulsed with great 
slaughter. Among the friends of the Roman Empire, the Iceni till then 
might be numbered, who had " by their own request" kept up an ami- 
cable footing : these were the subjects of Cymbeline and Cartismandua, 
and had consequently been uninjured by the war. When Ostorius, to 
protect himself from his disaffected neighbours, attempted to build a 
chain of forts between the Nen and the Severn, the Iceni themselves flew 
to arms. They were, however, defeated, and Marcus Ostorius, son of 
the Roman general, for saving the life of a fellow-citizen in the engage- 
ment, was presented with the civic crown. Those of the Brigantines who 
had rebelled were also obliged to make terms of peace, and the Silures 
alone maintained the contest under the brave Caractacus, son-in-law of 
Queen Cartismandua. 2 

About this time the Queen of the Brigantes had married Venusius, a 
British chieftain, one of the most skilful generals of his time. This 
prince, called by some writers Prince of the Jugantes, possessed many 
noble qualities ; but whatever motives led to this marriage of Queen 
Cartismandua, it is generally allowed to have proved most unfortunate to 
the parties themselves, to their country, and to their allies, the Romans. 
Both British and Roman authors concur in the praise of Venusius, whose 
coins have been preserved, and may be seen represented in some of their 
histories. New accessions to the dignity and possessions of the already 
powerful Cartismandua must have accrued from this match, and at first 
no symptoms appeared of the evils about to ensue. Yet a period of 
calamity for Britain, and bloodshed for Rome, was preparing. While 
all seemed to submit to the Roman supremacy, one high and haughty 
soul had scorned to tamper with the freedom of his country. Caractacus 
had already struggled boldly for his sister's sake j he now reappeared in 
arms against Rome, and battle followed battle during the space of nine 

1 Plautius was interred in the church of Claudius and Victoria, which Vespa- 
sian had built on the banks of the river, near the city ; the body of the Roman 
pro-praetor had been previously burnt, and the ashes inclosed in an urn after the 
Roman fashion. The Picts and Scots afterwards adopted this mode of burial. 
[Holinshed.] " The British cairn was a heap of stones thrown over the urns in 
which they deposited the ashes of the dead. These were placed in a stone chest 
within, termed by the Welsh and Irish by a word denoting a bed, and by the 
British word signifying sleeping -place. There were no inscriptions, but a few trip- 
lets committed to memory handed down, by oral tradition, the names and deeds 
of the departed." [Smith and Meyrick.] Bania, an Irish queen, was interred 
in the hill called, from the circumstance, Knockbane. [O'Flaherty.] 

1 Tacitus. 



CARTISMANDUA. 39 

years, Britain becoming the scene of a succession of contests, which 
ended only in the defeat of that heroic and vainly persevering chieftain. 

In the last fatal encounter which took place at Caer Caradoc, 1 in Shrop- 
shire, A. D. 51, the Britons were completely defeated, the wife and 
daughter of Caractacus were taken prisoners, one of his brothers was 
forced to surrender at discretion, 2 and the unfortunate prince himself, who 
was so severely wounded that he with the greatest difficulty escaped from 
the field of battle, was compelled to seek an asylum with his mother-in- 
law, Queen Cartismandua, who was at the time residing at Dunstaffnage, 
one of the royal cities of the Brigantes : the heroic chief, judging by his 
own heart, trusted that his mother-in-law, though an ally of Rome, would 
respect his misfortunes, and protect his person in this hour of extreme 
exigency. 

A dark cloud now overshadows the character of Cartismandua, who, 
instead of extending the protection which Caractacus had hoped to find, 
at once abandoned every feeling of affection and compassion, and mindful 
only of her own interest, delivered up her unfortunate son-in-law to the 
Roman general. 

If anything could be advanced in extenuation of such an act, it might 
be the fact that the daughter of Cartismandua was in the power of the 
Romans, with several other members of the family of Caractacus ; per- 
haps fear for her daughter's fate, should she neglect to deliver up the 
enemy of Rome, might have had some influence on her conduct, together 
with alarm for her own safety and that of her kingdom. Before she 
decided to betray the unfortunate Caractacus, Cartismandua, it appears, 
consulted her husband, and her doing so seems to show that she still 
hesitated. Self-interest, however, prevailed; and she reflected that to 
protect and shelter Caractacus would be to violate her own faith with the 
Romans ; and she reasoned, that to give him up, would, perhaps, be the 
ultimate means of saving his life, as well as that of her daughter, while 
both, as relatives of hers, might be respected by the conqueror. Amid 
these conflicting arguments, Venusius, anxious to conciliate his wife and 
preserve the kingdom, is said to have assented to yield up the unfortunate 
prince. 3 Without loss of time, therefore, a secret messenger conveyed 
to Ostorius Scapula the tidings of the important prisoner awaiting his 



Some authors have endeavoured to increase the odium which this act 
has fixed on the memory of the Queen, by attributing it to the envy she 
felt towards the Picts, whom she desired to behold in the same state of 
thraldom as her own countrymen, the Britons. Others have ascribed the 
act to the vanity of her ambition to shine as a powerful ally of Rome, and 
a hope of aggrandisement, to which she sacrificed all the better feelings 

1 Tacitus, Warrington, Holinshed, Speed, Lewis, &c. 

2 Until very recently it was customary for a society of gentlemen to meet an- 
nually on the hill Caer Caradoc, so famed for being the scene of the defeat of the 
hero whose name it bears, whose praise they celebrate on the occasion in prose 
or verse. On one of those occasions an admirable extempore poem was delivered 
by the Rev. Mr. Sneyd Davies. [Pennant, Lluyd.] 

" Speed, Holinshed, Warrington, Dr. Henry. " Scott, &c. 



40 CARTISMANDUA. 

of her nature ; be this as it may, certain it is that the Romans over- 
whelmed her with favours in consequence. Cartismandua is accused of 
having thrown Caractacus, chained, into prison ; but it is to be hoped that 
those writers are correct who state, that the first fetters which bound the 
person and wrung the soul of the heroic victim were those with which he 
was bound by the Romans, a strong party of whom were instantly dis- 
patched, who, coming secretly and suddenly on Caractacus, seized the 
wounded hero, and conveyed him to the presence of Ostorius. Uncon- 
quered even then, the chief addressed these words to the Roman general : 
" I have been beaten, and lost my liberty, rather through my perfidious 
step-mother's deceit than the strength of thy arms; it is my duty to sub- 
mit to the conqueror; but remember thine is, to follow the laws of 
clemency." Ostorius asking him in what manner he should use him, 
" In the same," answered Caractacus, "as thou wouldst wish to be used, 
if thou wert my prisoner." ' 

The joy of the Romans at this unexpected piece of good fortune was 
unbounded ; the unfortunate King was sent, with his whole family, to 
Rome, to grace their triumph ; and ornaments of honour were decreed to 
Ostorius, who still remained in Britain. 2 

Let us consider next the consequences of giving up Caractacus, to Car- 
tismandua herself. 

In the first place, the infamous deed drew upon the Queen and her 
husband the hatred of the whole British people ; 3 but they were obliged 
to suppress their feelings, for Venusius and Cartismandua were under the 
all-powerful protection of the Roman Empire ; their indignation did not, 
however, less fiercely burn to avenge the injuries of Caractacus. Loaded 
with benefits, the treacherous sovereigns for a time had cause for apparent 
rejoicing in the success of their perfidy, if wealth and power were the 
aim of the step they had taken. Cartismandua beheld herself raised to 
a pinnacle of greatness unknown in Britain before her times ; her pride 
is thought to have risen with her fortunes, and she became dazzled by the 
sunshine of such great prosperity. Luxury seemed now her sole aim, 
and its necessary corruption followed. 4 

The just jealousy of Venusius had been awakened by the levity Car- 
tismandua displayed in her conduct towards one of her own or her hus- 
band's train, a shield-bearer, called Vellocatus. 5 Cartismandua is said 
to have taken advantage of her husband's displeasure to execute an inten- 
tion which she had long fostered, to abandon him altogether; an open 
separation was at once effected, and the Queen, careless of opinion, set 
no bounds to her will, and in defiance of all decency, espoused the armour- 
bearer in public, either according to Roman or British custom, after which 
she caused her new spouse to be proclaimed king. 6 The reasons that 

1 Pineda's History of the Brigantes. * Dr. Henry. 

3 Camden says, that the yielding Caractacus up to the Romans, obtained wealth 
from them for the Queen, as though she had sold him over to his enemies; that this 
wealth procured luxury, which led to all the evils which followed. 

4 Milton. 6 Lappenberg. 
c Henry, Malcolm, Lewis, Holinshed, Tacitus, Milton, Stowe. 



CARTISMANDUA. 41 

induced Cartismandua thus to degrade her dignity are unknown, nor is it 
conjectured how Venusius, whose noble qualities, except in one instance, 
were generally admitted, could so suddenly have become hateful to her ; 
the Queen's heart seems to have been changed, and the elevation of for- 
tune to which she had of late attained by unworthy means, altogether 
destroyed her former principle. 

The last act of Cartismandua, the elevating Vellocatus to the supreme 
dignity, proved the ruin of herself and family ; it exasperated the people 
to such a degree, that the whole kingdom was in commotion. Venusius 
was by all parties esteemed the lawful husband of Cartismandua, and so 
general was the abhorrence felt at the conduct of the Queen, that they 
scorned to be ruled by her, and resolved to support her injured husband's 
right to the throne. 1 The neighbouring states supported this determi- 
nation, being, as well as the Brigantes, jealous of the ambition and au- 
thority of Cartismandua. 2 

The flower of the British youth, having assembled under the conduct 
of Venusius, attacked the Queen in the heart of her own territories, of 
which the chief city had declared for Venusius. 3 This unexpected defec- 
tion in her own subjects was fatal to the Queen's cause. After many 
sharp encounters she was reduced to such extremities, as to be on the 
point of falling into the hands of the brave warriors whom she had so 
much injured. To escape was impossible ; no alternative remained, but 
to apply for help to the Romans, and to them Cartismandua knew her 
appeal would not be in vain ; in fact, the experience of her Roman allies 
had already caused them to foresee the danger into which the Queen had 
now fallen. At Cartismandua's request, some bands of horse and foot 
soldiers were sent to her aid. Several encounters took place between the 
Roman forces and those of the Queen's enemies ; but the former at last 
prevailed, and were enabled to deliver the Queen from her perilous situ- 
ation : her person was saved, but she was forced to yield up the posses- 
sion of her kingdom to Venusius. 

The war which domestic dissensions had begun, now involved the 
foreign foe : up to this time Venusius, who had lived in amity with his 
Queen, had respected and been respected by the Romans, her friends and 
allies; 4 now that they openly protected her against his interest, his 
resentment was unbounded, and he, from this period, vowed vengeance 
on Rome ; and though he had only taken up arms to avenge his own 
wrongs, be henceforth resolved to engage in a war of hatred against the 
powerful Roman Empire. 5 The struggle, henceforward, was not for 
liberty, but for vengeance ; and Venusius gave his skilful enemies unex- 
pected trouble. 6 During the three years which ensued, we have no more 
mention of Cartismandua, who probably had sought shelter and protec- 
tion at Camalodunum, with her great allies. Her security was, however, 
shortly endangered ; for the camp which Ostorius had established amidst 
the Silures (the general still persevering in his design of erecting the 
chain of forts between the Nen and the Severn) was attacked by the Bri- 

: Malcolm, Lewis, Speed. a Tacitus, Holinshed. 3 Camden. 

4 Tacitus. 6 Ibid. 6 Milton 

4* 



42 CARTISMANDUA. 

tons in a body, who surrounded the officer commanding the legionary 
cohorts, and, but for sudden succour from the neighbouring garrisons, 
would have cut to pieces the whole corps. As it was, the praefect of the 
camp, with eight centurions and the bravest of the soldiers, were killed 
on the spot. 1 These and other reverses exasperated and harassed Osto- 
rius, while the Briton's fiercest wrath was aroused by hearing that he 
had declared he would extirpate the very name of the Silures. A 
foraging-party of Romans, and the detachment sent to their support, were 
soon after put to the rout, and two whole auxiliary cohorts, sent in quest 
of plunder, became prisoners of war to the fierce Britons. Overcome by 
the continued anxiety of this varying war, Ostorius sunk with fatigue, 
A. D. 55, when Aulus Didius was appointed to the command of the Ro- 
man forces in the island. 2 

During the interval which preceded the arrival of Didius, Manlius Va- 
lens, and the legion he commanded, had hazarded a battle, in which they 
were defeated by the Silures. 3 The first step taken by the new general 
was to invade the territories of Corbred, King of Scots, who had succeeded 
to the crown on the imprisonment of his brother Caractacus, and till this 
time had preserved amity with Rome. This step was taken at the express 
request of Queen Cartismandua. 

The territory of the Picts, on the borders of Scotland, had been assigned 
to Caractacus for his life, and when that chieftain died, the Romans laid 
claim to it as reverting to them. This was represented to the Scottish 
King, who, at the head of an army, had advanced to the scene of warfare, 
by a herald from Aulus Didius, who ordered the inabitants of Galloway 
to depart from that district, and make way for the Romans. The herald 
of haughty Rome would have been put to death, but was spared out of 
regard to the laws of arms. Scarcely was the message received, when 
Corbred learnt that Caesius Nasica had entered Galloway with a Roman 
legion, to the great terror of the inhabitants, 4 who, in the engagement 
which ensued, were defeated by their skilful enemies. 

Corbred, who had distributed his men in several castles and fortresses 
for better security, advanced to Epiake, to obtain advice and assistance 
from Venusius. He took possession of that city, and left the Brigantes 
to defend it against their mutual foes. 

At this juncture, Queen Cartismandua contrived, by some stratagem, 
to seize the persons of Venusius, his brother, and several of his family, 
whom she threw into prison at Epiake ; by which one would infer that a 
party in her favour had still existed among her own people. It is said 
that the Queen was induced to hazard this daring step, to prevent her 
husband and his family assisting the Scotch King, as had been stipulated 
by the late alliance made with Corbred. It would seem that Venusius 

1 Tacitus. 

2 "Didius was a tame, inactive officer, whose great age prevented his perform- 
ing anything remarkable in the war: indeed, he never risked his own person in 
any single engagement, but acted by the medium of his officers, content to keep 
the enemy in subjection, without seeking to add further honours to those he had 
before accumulated." — Tacitus. 

8 Tacitus. 4 Scott, Holinshed, &c. 



CARTISMANDUA. 43 

himself must have afterwards escaped, as he appears, soon after, opposing 
Cartismandua in a sharp engagement, in which the Queen, aided by her 
lloman allies, came off victorious. On this last event, the brave warrior 
certainly fell into the hands of his relentless wife. Historians relate, that 
when Corbred heard the tidings of what had befallen Venusius and his 
family, he hastily retreated towards Epiake.' Finding, however, upon 
his return there, that the cause of Cartismandua was nearly desperate, 
and that she had resolved to put her prisoners to death, 2 his arrival be- 
came the signal of triumph over the fated Queen, who was now in his 
power ; and her enemies were released. The punishment inflicted by the 
Scottish King on Cartismandua, which immediately followed, marks how 
deeply he had felt injured by the wrongs of his brother Caractacus, who, 
like himself, was her step-son, both being children of Cadallan, her former 
husband. 

It appears that Cartismandua was immured alive ; her advanced age 
unconsidered and unpitied. This horrible though deserved death is an 
indication of the spirit of the times, in which such savage vengeance was 
considered virtue. From her birth to her grave, Cartismandua's life had 
been one of vicissitude and irritation. The exile of her father, and loss 
of his dominions, her marriage and return to Britain, which she looked 
upon as in itself an exile ; the fatal disobedience of her son Adminius, 
the disaffection of Guiderius and Arviragus from the Roman interest, in 
which her own was bound up, and the union of her daughter with the 
declared enemy of Rome ; all these events must have filled the heart of 
the Queen with constant agitations, while the necessary struggles to main- 
tain her power kept her in ceaseless action and alarm ; till at length, the 
unprecedented step she was led into by her ungoverned will, cancelled all 
her former triumphs, and covered her with disgrace and ruin. 

After his signal act of vengeance, Corbred advanced against Csesius 
Nasica, whose forces he routed ; and from that time forward, an unre 
mitting and successful war was carried on against the Romans, the Bri- 
gantes remaining unsubdued during the whole reign of Vespasian. 

1 Scott, Guthrie, Holinshed. > Camden. 



BOADICEA "THE WARLIKE." 

"War! war! no peace! peace is to me a war!" 

The Pictish Princes — Cadallan — Metallanus — Boadicea's claims on British sym- 
pathy — British mothers — The Castle of Maidens — Education — Marriage and 
•wrongs of Boadicea — Caractacus rouses himself — Arviragus throws off the Ro- 
man yoke — Defeat of the Britons — Roman triumph — Will of Prasutagus — 
Manner in which it was respected — Seneca as usurer — Outrages of the Ro- 
mans — Rage and grief of the Britons — Boadicea's resolve — Corbred moved to 
help her — Insolent answer of the Romans — Taking of Mona — Boadicea's mag- 
nificent speech and prayer to Adraste — The hare — Preparations for the fight — 
Camalodunum — Omens — Fate of the city — Successes — Cruelties — St. Albans 
taken — The Wheel of Fortune turns — Reaction — Defeat of the Britons — Death 
of the Queen. 

The disastrous fortunes of Boadicea have furnished a theme for many 
an historian and poet : and a more dramatic subject could scarcely be 
discovered throughout the whole of our British annals : as a wife, a queen, 
a patriot, and a mother, Boadicea was for her heroism in misfortunes 
unequalled. Spenser, commenting upon the surname of " Victorious," 
bestowed upon this ill-fated Queen by the Britons, says she was one — 

"Who, whiles good-fortune favoured her might, 
Triumphed oft against her enemies ; 
And yet, though overcome in haplesse fight, 
She triumphed o'er death in ennemis despight." 

Faerie Queene. 

Little indeed in accordance with the actual history of Boadicea was that 
triumphant title : her misfortunes might rather, like Priam's, have given 
her a right to the sad distinction he claimed — 

"The first of men in sovereign misery." 
Who has not felt sympathy for 

" The British warrior-queen, 

Bleeding from the Roman rods;" 

and with tears of commiseration followed her, when she 

" Sought, with an indignant mien, 
Counsel of her country's gods !" 

The word " Boadicea " is variously written — Bonduca, or Voadicea, or 
Woda, the letters b and v being used indiscriminately, as in Spanish, by 
British writers; according to one commentator, "the woman of the 
sword " is the real meaning of the term : others say that the really Bri- 
tish name was Aregwedd Buddig, or " the Victorious," " Buddig " ' beiDg 
" Boo Tika" upon the coins of the Queen. 

1 "Beadaighe." The word " Buddig" is preserved in an ancient poem, in con- 
junction with those of Beli the Great and Mynogan, his predecessor. — Rev. P. 
Roberts. 

(44) 



BOADICEA. 45 

The mother of Boadicea, Europeia, was a daughter of King Evenus II., 
and a descendant of Agasia, princess of Britain. 1 Through her, Boadicea 
might, as King Henry VII. long afterwards did, have laid claim to the 
houours of a royal Trojan ancestry; on the side of her father also, who 
boasted himself the descendant of Scota, she derived her origin from the 
Egyptian monarchs. 2 If this exalted birth could confer happiness, how 
brilliant and glad might have been the destiny of Boadicea ! 

The family of Boadicea had early became distinguished by its fidelity 
to the throne. Cadallus, her grandfather, had signalized himself by his 
protection of the infant children of Durstus and Agasia, during the period 
they were excluded from the succession on account of their minority ; 
when one of these young princes became king, as Evenus II., Cadallus 
filled the office of Regent. 

The gratitude of Evenus caused him to reward this tried and faithful 
friend by the gift of the territory of Brigantia, together with other estates ; 
and when, after the death of Cadallus, dissensions arose among his sons 
as to the division of their patrimonial inheritance, the King himself 
undertook to adjust their difference. To the eldest son, Cadallan, after- 
wards the father of Boadicea, he awarded the greater part of the family 
estates in Brigantia, with supreme authority over the rest; constituting, 
in fact, a sort of petty sovereignty. Angus was apportioned to the 
second son, and the remainder of Brigantia to the third : after which, the 
Scottish King, in person, proceeded to Epiake, where, in the most con- 
spicuous part of the city he caused a statue, in honor of his departed 
friend, to be erected. 3 

Cadallan, who was married to Europeia, niece of King Ederus, the 
next prince who sat on the throne, fixed his residence at Carictonium, in 
the county of Carrick, and there several of his children were born. As 
the sons of Pictish princesses inherited the crown by right of their 
mother, it was thought that Cadallan aspired to the supplanting of the 
young monarch to whom he had been appointed guardian, but he gave 
a very convincing proof of the uprightness of his intentions in that 
respect. 

The King, for his vices, had been thrown into prison by the people ; 
and one of the persons about the court, under the impression that he 
might gain favour with Cadallan, secretly entered the dungeon and assas- 
sinated him. The Regent, filled with horror and indignation, put the 
murderer to death for the crime, and instead of availing himself of this 
event for an act of treason, instantly proclaimed Metallanus, his wife's 
brother, king. This prince possessed a character totally different from 
his predecessor, and swayed the sceptre for the space of thirty years in 
undisturbed peace and harmony. 

During the reign of Metallanus, Cadallan, who had lost his wife Eu- 
ropeia, entered into a second alliance ; the lady whom he selected wat 

1 Tacitus, Speed, Guthrie, Anderson, and Nesbitt. 

2 See Rev. P. Roberts on the Early History of the Cymri, or Ancient Britons. 
s Pineda, Boetius, Polydore Virgil, Holinshed. 



46 BOADICEA. 

Cartismandua, 1 widow of Cymbeline, the deceased King of the Britons, 
whose eventful life has just been related in this work. 

At the period of her second marriage, Cartismandua, as has been 
shown, had a numerous family by her first husband. The family of 
Cadallan consisted of three sons and a daughter; of these Caractacus 
was the eldest, the daughter was Boadicea. 

This princess has the highest claims on British sympathy, from the 
fact of her having been born, nursed, and bred among her countrymen. 
She had no leaning to the Roman invaders of the soil ; Britain alone had 
her heart ; and the freedom of her country, for which women, as well as 
men, in her time lived and died, was her ambition. 

Her mother's country was the southern portion of Scotland, now known 
as the Lowlands ; consequently the habits and manners of those people 
governed her education and character, and the sentiments displayed 
throughout her after-life, were caught from those associations. 

Among the ancient women of Britain it was a thing to cause suspi- 
cion of a wife's fidelity, if her child were reared by any other than the 
mother. The British matron did not consider it fostered with due care, 
unless nursed at her own bosom ; for she would have dreaded a degene- 
ration from the parents, as well as danger to the infant's life. 2 On the 
birth of a son, it was usual for the mother to place the first food on the 
point of her husband's sword, and to insert it in the child's mouth ; at 
the same time she offered a devout prayer to the gods of her country, 
that the babe might at some future period end his life amidst the swords 
and javelins of his enemies on the field of battle. 3 We are not actually 
told that a female child was desired to share the same fate ; but as in 
those days women ever attended upon the warlike expeditions of their 
husbands, there is little doubt but that the spirit with which Boadicea 
the Warlike was reared, tended to the same purpose. 

In the Isle of Skye, a famous fortress existed in those times, in which 
the use of arms was taught by a woman ; it was called Dun Sgathach ; 
but the scene of the education of the princesses of the Pictish nation, 
was the celebrated Castle of Maydens, situated in the vicinity of Holy- 
rood House, Edinburgh. Camden, after describing that monastery, 
proceeds to state that over the edifice, " within a park well stocked with 
deer, hares, and conies, hangs a mountain with two tops, called Arthur's 
Chair, from Arthur the Briton. On the west side, there mounts up a 
rock to a mighty height, steep and inaccessible on all sides but that 
which looks towards the city, upon which stands a castle, so strongly for- 
tified with a great number of towers, that it is looked upon as impreg- 
nable. This the Britons called ' Castle Myned Agned/ and the Scots, 
1 The Maiden's Castle,' and < The Virgin's Castle,' because the maiden 
princesses of the blood-royal of the Picts were kept here." 4 

1 The date of this marriage cannot be very easily determined : it occurred be- 
tween the years 2 and 29. Cymbeline died a. d. 2, and Metallanus in 29, who is 
expressly stated *o have survived Cadallan ; but the date of Cadallan's second 
marriage and that of his death are undiscovered. 

3 Holinshed. a Solinus. 

4 The Castle of Maidens, afterwards called Edenburgh, from Aidan, one of the 



BOADICEA. 47 

"Here were the daughters and grand-daughters of Pictish monarchs 
kept in strait custody, and appointed to learn to sewe and worke, till 
they came to years of marriage." 1 The study of warlike achievements 
was, therefore, not the only occupation of the female sex. 

There is much interest in inquiring into the kind of implements made 
use of in this primitive condition of society. The ancient British needle 
was made of bone, and resembled that used for the heads of arrows. 
The Welsh word "Nedwydd" literally implies, sharp-pointed wood; the 
British word " Gwaell" signifies a needle, bodkin, skewer, or brooch, and 
singularly enough is a denomination made use of for several bones; thus 
"Gwaell y goes" is the spindle-boDe of the leg, and " Gwaell yr 
Yswydd," the shoulder-blade bone, which perhaps was split for needles or 
bodkins. 2 

With the rude implements described, the skins of animals which had 
been killed in the chase 3 were sewn together, either with leathern thongs 
or vegetable fibres. 

Another favorite employment of the early British maiden, was that of 
weaving baskets, and the structure of these baskets was so much admired 
by the Romans, that they not only introduced them into Italy, but even 
adopted the British name for the bascawd, terming them bascawdce. 4 
The daughters of modern England and Scotland, who are so familiarly 
acquainted with the many domestic uses of the basket, must not forget 
that they owe its invention to the native island maidens who preceded 
them, nineteen centuries ago. Amongst these, no doubt was the royal 
Buadicea, who was instructed in all such feminine accomplishments as 
existed in her time. Nor are we left wholly in ignorance of the asso- 
ciates of her infancy, for several Pictish princesses of that date are 
noticed by our historians. These were Crifanga and Nairia, who were 
both daughters of Pictish monarchs. The first lady married in A. D. 15, 
Lugad Ribdearg, King of Ireland, who had by his second queen, Devor- 

Scottish kings, was built by the same British king who founded the city of York, 
whence we discover him to have been of the Pictish race. He was named 
Ebranke ; and the town of York, where his remains reposed, was formerly de- 
nominated Caer Ebranke, or Eboracum. From Maiden Castle in Stanmore, in 
the North Riding of Yorkshire, ran the old military way, called the Maiden Way, 
because it began at Maiden Castle, and which passed through the ancient town 
of which the vast ruins yet remaining below Kirkby Thore, in Westmoreland, 
[north-west of Appleby, upon the river Eden,] are called by the people there 
Whely Castle. This old town is' about 300 yards in length, and 150 in breadth, 
and has three entrances on each side, with bulwarks before them ; Roman urns 
and coins are frequently dug up there. — Ency. Brit. 

About a mile from Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, is the encampment called 
Maiden Bower, 2,500 feet in circumference, environed by a ditch and a rampart. 
Near Leighton Buzzard is a similar one ; and on the road from Bedford to Eaton 
Socon a third may be discerned. See Camden. 

1 Holinshed. 

2 Smith and Meyrick : Costumes of Ancient Britons. This work refers to the 
Archaeologia for some pictures of these bone needles. 

3 Smith. * Hope's Essays, &c. 



48 BOADICEA. 

gilla, a son, named Crimtban. 1 This Crimthan subsequently married 
Nairia, daughter of Laoch, another Pictish king, and assumed from bis 
•wife the surname of Niadhnar. 2 It was usual for Pictish princes to 
assume the name of their wife or mother, from the custom which existed 
among them of conveying the hereditary rights of their monarchs through 
the female line. On the death of the king, a new member of the royal 
family was selected as his successor, who always laid claim to the throne 
" by the spindle side," and was presented to the people as his mother's 
heir. 3 It seems probable that some connexion existed between one or 
both these princesses with Boadicea, as at a subsequent period, Crimthan, 
step-son of the former, and husband to the latter, made himself con- 
spicuous for an expedition into Britain to aid his friends and relatives the 
Picts and Scots, against their formidable enemies, the Romans. He is 
said to have returned to Ireland laden with the spoils of the Roman 
legions, amongst which were " a suit of armour, embossed with gold and 
gems, a military cloak with golden fringe, a sword with 'figures of ser- 
pents upon it in chased gold, and a brace of greyhounds joined together 
by a silver chain, of which the price was estimated, according to the 
primitive custom of barter, at the value of three hundred cows." 4 

Boadicea had very early lost her mother, and was destined to be de- 
prived of her other surviving parent; a particularly trying circumstance 
for her, as it placed her more completely under the influence of her 
haughty step-mother Cartismandua. This position must have had a 
powerful influence on her after-life. Another important event which 
happened A.D. 29, was the death of her uncle, King Metallanus, who 
leaving no children, the race of Fergus became extinct, and the crown 
was adjudged to Caractacus, son of Europeia, the King's sister. 5 

On the elevation of Caractacus to the throne, the ambitious Cartis- 
mandua sent to negotiate with that king and his sister, the alliances 
which united in one firm and double tie the royal family of North and 
South Britain ; it was probably about the same time that the princess 
Boadicea became united in marriage to Arviragus, the third son of Car- 
tismandua. Through her children, the Queen of the Brigantes might 
thus control both extremes of the country, and her own individual power 
was by no means limited as leader of the mighty people which formed a 
barrier between the two. 

The Iceni were the people over whom Arviragus ruled ; they are 
named by Tacitus as being very rich and prosperous, and had been 
unshaken by the war with the Bomans. 

The country of the Iceni was divided between the Magni and Coritani, 
who possessed all the country from the Stour in Essex to the banks of 
the Humber and the Don. Caistor, near Norwich, was the capital town 

1 The death of Devorgilla, mother of Crimthan, who was a princess of Den- 
mark, and Lugad's second wife, so affected that prince that he put a period to 
his own existence. O'Flaherty, O'Halloran, Warner, Keating. 

2 O'Flaherty. s Palgrave's Saxon Commonwealth. 
4 Moore's History of Ireland. 

6 Duncan's History of Scotland. Caractacus became king a. d. 28. Holinshed. 



BOADICEA. 49 

of the Iceni Magni, who dwelt between the Stour and the Nen. On 
the other hand Leicester, called Ragse, was the capital of the Iceni Cori- 
tani, who dwelt between the Nen and the Humber and Don. 1 

Amongst these people were two Roman stations, Camborita or Cam- 
bridge, amongst the Magni; and another at Lincta or Lincoln, amongst 
the Coritani ; and so late as A. D. 48, the people preserved their friend- 
ship with Rome. Probably this was owing to the rule of Cymbeline, 
and doubtless his widow and children had endeavoured to maintain the 
good understanding which existed. The Trinobantes and Cassii being 
their southern neighbours, and the Brigantes those to the north, assisted 
in preserving this state of peace, those nations being allies of Rome. 
The Carbanii adjoined them on the west. 2 

Arviragus and Boadicea, it appears, resided at Norwich, which city 
was termed by the Romans " Venta Icenorum," the " Winchester" or 
royal city of the Iceni. A Roman castle, about three miles distant, was 
supposed to have been built by Ca3sar. 3 

For some years after the marriage of Boadicea, we gain no further in- 
formation respecting her than that she became the mother of two daugh- 
ters and a son, who were educated in Britain ; and with them was brought 
up a son of one of the brothers of Boadicea, who was surnamed Galgacus 
or Galdus, from the circumstance of his living among strangers, and who 
afterwards became a distinguished personage. 

The circumstances attending the arrival of the Emperor Claudius in 
Britain have been already related, and the separation of Arviragus and 
Boadicea, The object of the Romans was to disunite the British princes, 
the better to establish their power. They wished to divide Arviragus 
from the Scottish interest, and with this view the daughter of Claudius 
had been proposed for his wife. Aulus Plautius is said to have first 
suggested the measure. 4 Arviragus consulted with his Britons, and 
their consent gained, peace was made between the British king and Ro- 
man emperor. Deputies were sent to Rome for the princess, and the 
unfortunate Boadicea, on pretence of some " private ground for displea- 
sure," was formally divorced from her husband, and with her children, 
placed in confinement, where, to add to her grief, one of them died. 
This unjust proceeding was deeply resented by the Britons, to whom 
Boadicea was dear ; the story of her wrongs roused every heart in the 
kingdom. It was not the least felt by the heroic king of Scotland, who 
hastened to rescue his beloved sister from her ignominious and unmerited 
thraldom. 

Boadicea was, probably, confined in the capital of her own dominions, 
viz., Norwich ; otherwise, the scheme which was adopted by Caractacus 
might not have been so successful. The Britons, placing themselves 
under arms, are said to have forcibly carried off the Queen and her chil- 
dren from their prison, and conveyed them into Wales to the protection of 
Caractacus, to whom a great portion of that country belonged, for he is 
particularly denominated King of the Silures by some historians. This 

1 TToare's Notes on Giraldus Canibrensis. 2 Hoare. 

- Parkins's Norwich. 4 Holinshed. Graftou's Chronicle. 

5 D 



50 B A D I C E A . 

people inhabited Wales and the Marches, and at this time Shrewsbury 
•was one of their chief towns. That this was the heart of the territories 
of Caractacus in South Britain, appears from its neighborhood afterwards 
being the place of his final defeat. 1 Here, then, Boadicea was received 
by one who was her faithful friend in adversity, and the meeting of such 
a brother and sister under circumstances like theirs may easily be con- 
ceived. The indignation of Caractacus, once aroused against the Romans, 
was destined to be felt by them without cessation for a long series of 
years : 2 at present their measures were entered into and determined upon 
in relation to the future only, for they waited the result of impending 
events. 

The next summer brought to Britain the Roman princess, who was 
formally united to Arviragus ; and as if no measure should be neglected 
to gratify the Romans, and insult the discarded Queen, it was determined 
in counsel that the children of Arviragus, by his first marriage, should be 
excluded from the succession, and that the regal power should devolve 
on the offspring of the present marriage. 

After the unsuccessful battle fought by the friends of Boadicea, when 
the Roman chiefs and Arviragus retired to London, Caractacus retreated 
first to York, and afterwards to Carrick. Thither an embassy from Plau- 
tius followed him, demanding the reason of his opposition to the Roman 
authority. Caractacus's answer was, that he had just cause for his con- 
duct in the injuries that his sister Boadicea, and her son Guiderius, had 
sustained, and were likely to sustain, through their counsel and means; 
and so little was he disposed to make any amends for what was done that 
he thought it more reasonable that the Romans should quit the island of 
Britain, unless they had made up their minds to have not only the Bri- 
tons, but the Picts and Scots, for their perpetual enemies, if only for the 
defence of their ancient liberty and freedom. The Roman ambassadors 
having returned with this answer, Plautius was highly indignant, and 
threatened revenge on the author of such high and contumelious language 
against the majesty of the Roman empire. 3 

Things being arranged to the satisfaction of the Roman Emperor, 
Claudius returned to Rome, leaving Arviragus in possession of the sove- 
reignty — if such it could be called under the present circumstances, his 
Queen being a Roman, and her allies, Aulus Plautius and his forces, 
having a sort of military rule under him, in which he was compelled to 
acquiesce. Arviragus, however, for a time preserved his faith. He 
even united with the Roman general to chastise the Britons for the ab- 
duction of Boadicea, against whom a battle was fought ; but the Queen's 
adherents being overthrown, the affection for her was such that the very 
next day the people of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire flew to arms, 
and the Roman force, with the two leaders, Arviragus and Plautius, was 
compelled to retreat to London, lest an escape to the continent should be 
necessary ; and in the emergency, Plautius sent to Rome for two more 
legions to support his authority. 4 

1 Holinshed. a Tacitus. 3 Holinsbed. 

' Caractacus, King of Scots, was elected chieftain in this war, undertaken in 



BOADICEA. 51 

These events were followed by a general meeting of the friends of 
Boadicea, at Shrewsbury, in which Caractacus was invested with the sole 
command of the forces to be raised among the Britons, Scots, and Picts. 
In the following spring the hosts of these three nations were collected in 
Yorkshire, to make another struggle in favor of the Scottish princess. 
After a sanguinary contest, Arviragus and Plautius again retreated on 
London, and Caractacus and his friends to York, and thence to Epiake. 
The Boman general sent soon afterwards an embassy to Caractacus, which 
received the haughty answer suggested by the freedom of spirit in which 
Caractacus had been brought up. 

After this, Arviragus suddenly assumed in his own person the sole 
command, disdaining the intervention of the Bomans. Vespasian, after- 
wards Emperor, was sent over by Claudius to compel him to submit ; that 
general laid siege to Exeter, where Arviragus, having come up with his 
forces, gave him battle, though no decided victory was gained on either 
side : the next day the King was reconciled to Vespasian by the inter- 
ference of Queen Gwenissa ; but afterwards deserting his wife, Arviragus 
fled to Shrewsbury, where a reconciliation took place between him and 
his much-injured Queen, Boadicea. The fate of Gwenissa belongs to her 
biography. 

Arviragus once more on the British side, the affairs of Boadicea wore 
a more favourable aspect. The chiefs of Britain united their forces again 
in Yorkshire, but before an engagement could take place, Vespasian fell 
upon the army of confederates, and it was almost cut to pieces in spite of 
its brave defence. Arviragus himself was prevented only by his attend- 
ants from falling on his own sword ; they carried him by main force from 
the field of battle. The Pictish King, who had joined in this struggle, 
beholding the destruction of his people, desired not to survive them ; he 
threw away his arms and regal ornaments, and sitting down on a stone, as 
one distracted, was slain by some of the Bomans who followed up the 
pursuit. Caractacus escaped into his own country. 1 

Vespasian next besieged Camelon, and forced it to surrender from 
famine : to that town had been carried the regal ornaments of the Pictish 
King, of which the Boman General secured possession. 2 They consisted 
of a crown, with other jewels; and we are told, that with these was a 
sword, which had a haft of gold aud purple scabbard, very finely wrought 
and carved, which Vespasian ever after wore with much pride in his 
wars. 3 

Camelon was now peopled with Bomans by Vespasian, and endowed 
with the liberties and privileges of a Boman city. A temple to Claudius 
was built on the banks of the Carron, in which two statues were set up 

his sister's defence, [Holinshed,] by the general desire of the people, and pro- 
mised to join the allied forces at Shrewsbury in the spring. Congist, King of the 
Picts, also added his friendly assistance at this juncture. [Ibid.] 

J See Life of Gwenissa. 2 Holinshed. 

s Holinshed. When Arviragus threw off the Roman yoke, it is likely he forti- 
fied those places which were most convenient for their invasion, viz., Kichbo- 
rough, W aimer, Dover, and Hastings. — Chronicles of Dover Monastery, printed in 
Leland's Collectanea. 



52 BOADICEA. 

by order of the general, one of which represented Claudius, and the other 
the goddess Victoria. Vespasian subsequently marched into Galloway, 
and took possession of Carrick, where he received the oaths of allegiance 
of the people, who, till then, had held out in the cause of the Queen and 
liberty. It was probably to this town that King Arviragus came to meet 
the victorious Roman, to whom he had, with consent of his adherents, 
offered to submit upon honourable terms. Vespasian, on this occasion, 
desirous of humbling the pride of Arviragus, refused to make any terms, 
unless he would come in his own person, and in private attire, a condition 
probably more galling to him than any other which could have been im- 
posed. Resistance was, however, useless. He divested himself of his 
royal costume and equipage, and, coming to Vespasian in the humble 
manner he had dictated, was not only pardoned, but restored to his former 
station. Hostages were, however, required for his fidelity, and a fine im- 
posed, not only on every chief who had rebelled, but on every city which 
had joined in taking up arms against Rome. The British laws were 
abrogated, Roman ones were substituted, and a Roman judge was 
appointed over every province, for the preservation of peace and Roman 
discipline. 

Arviragus is no more mentioned in history, except as an ally of the 
Romans, with whom, during the rest of his long life, he maintained 
terms, and even assumed the greatest respect for the Roman Senate. The 
fame of his valour effaced all beside in the Roman mind, now that he 
was subservient to the will of the strongest ; and the poet Juvenal, who, 
in some complimentary verses addressed to the Emperor, mentions him 
thus: 

" Some captive king, thee, his new lord, shall own ; 
Or, from his British chariot headlong thrown, 
The proud Arviragus comes tumbling down." 

It was considered a subject of glory and triumph, even for the Roman 
Emperor to aspire to conquer or make captive this heroic chieftain. 1 
Arviragus is said to have been more fierce in war than any of the princes, 
his contemporaries ; yet, in peace, no one could be more mild or more 
jocose. He is said to have enacted new laws, and confirmed those of his 
ancestors, and to have distinguished himself for the princely munificence 
with which he rewarded persons of merit. His selfishness and cruelty to 
both his wives is lost in the turbulence then called bravery. 

The next point which historians give us of Boadicea's history unites 
her name with that of Prasutagus, King of the Iceni, her husband, who 
appears to be the same as Arviragus, King of the Iceni, and which name 
he seems to have borne after the death of his mother, Queen Cartisman- 
dua. 2 One circumstance might account for the new name of the King 
of the Britons : his second wife, Gwenissa, laid aside her Roman name, 
and adopted one purely British ; and as it was usual among the ancient 
Britons, when they embraced the faith of Christ, and were baptized, to 

1 In compliment to Vespasian, for his valour displayed in Britain, on his re- 
turn to Rome he was met by the Emperor without the gates of the city, who gave 
him the right hand as they walked, — a mark of very great esteem. 

a Rapin. 



BOADICEA. 53 

adopt new names from the Greek, Latin, or Hebrew, it is not unlikely 
that the king adopted it when, with Gwenissa, he received the Christian 
faith. As the British word Gwerydd (for Arviragus) contains the basis 
of viridis, green, conveyed in the word Prasutagus, and the custom of 
Britain was to specify some particular colour in the name of the individual, 
this alone seems to set the question of identity, which has been raised, 
beyond further doubt. 1 

Arviragus, or Prasutagus, as we may now call him, anticipating the 
rapacity of the Romans, left, by his will, the Emperor Nero co-heir with 
his two daughters, making no mention whatever of Queen Boadicea; for 
the husband of Gwenissa, who, at her death, had left a son as her heir, 
could only hope by such a division as that made in the will to secure his 
family from injury. 

No sooner, however, was he deceased, than the officers of Nero seized 
on his entire effects in their master's name, his kingdom was spoiled by 
the Roman centurions, his house ransacked by slaves, his kinsmen treated 
as captives of war, and the wealthiest of his subjects amongst the Iceni 
despoiled of their estates, under the pretext furnished by the will ; this 
last injustice was done at the instigation of the colony settled at Cama- 
lodunum or Colchester, with whom the soldiers co-operated, hoping here- 
after to be able to take the same license themselves ; thus, many who had 
settled even in that city, were expelled from it on the same pretence. 
The temple erected to Claudius, appeared to those Britons who remained 
in Camalodunum, a badge of their eternal slavery, for the priests em- 
ployed in it under pretence of religious services due there, wasted or 
embezzled every man's property for their own private use. 2 This was not 
enough for the cupidity of the oppressors. Catus Decianus, the Roman 
procurator, endeavoured to bring all the people's goods under a new con- 
fiscation, by disavowing the remitment of Claudius; fresh taxes were 
imposed on lands and cattle; 3 and to crown all, those Britons who had 
been drawn in by the rich philosopher Seneca, Nero's counsellor, to borrow 
vast sums of money under his promises of easy loan, and licence to repay 
at convenience, were suddenly compelled to repay all at once, with great 
extortion. Among the number of those who had entered into such a 
snare as to entangle themselves in debt to Seneca, was the father of Boa- 
dicea, who had obtained the money through Roman usurers. 4 " The 
King of the Iceni," as he is here called, would rather seem to have been 
Cymbeline or Venusius, than the brave Cadallan, father of Boadicea and 
Caractacus; and if either of these, the word " father" might be intended 
to signify " step-father ;" it was certainly one of the three ; and in any 
case, on the death of Arviragus, such a debt must necessarily devolve on 
Boadicea, as the representative of those princes. The unfortunate Queen, 
a widow, in the hands of merciless creditors and unrelenting enemies, 

1 There is some diversity of opinion as to the place of interment of this cele- 
brated British monarch, — whether, as some relate, he was buried in the temple 
of Claudius at Gloucester, or at London ; nor is the exact date of his death 
specified. 

2 Stowe, Echard, Milton. 3 Warrington. 
J The amount due was forty sesterces. 

5* 



54 BOADICEA. 

vainly remonstrated against the injustice of their proceedings; at length, 
infuriated by her reproaches, and unrestrained by any feeling of humanity, 
the brutal soldiery to whom she was given up, encouraged by their more 
brutal leaders, subjected the ill-fated Boadicea to the common punishment 
of the scourge, while the fate of her unhappy daughters was even more 
hideous than her own. Their immortal wrongs blacken the page of 
history, which has no record so atrocious. 1 The tide of accumulated 
injuries was now at its height, and the fury of a whole nation burst forth 
in one overwhelming current, to overflow the land with the blood of 
enemies whom no laws had restrained. 

Ages have passed by, yet the heart still bleeds at the record of this 
noble woman's wrongs. From the moment of this outrage, the heart of 
the Queen was deadened to all feelings but those of vengeance, stung 
with shame, crushed with unmerited disgrace, and bowed by agonies 
that found no name ; while Boadicea resolved still to endure life, hateful 
as it had become to her, in the sole hope of wreaking a fearful vengeance 
which should atone for her unheard-of injuries. 

No lack of sympathy was shown for the wrongs of Boadicea by her 
generous and loyal-hearted Britons. One and all, the inhabitants of the 
Roman colony of London excepted, determined to unite in freeing their 
country from the yoke of a people who could perpetrate such crimes, 
more hateful since the victims were the weak and defenceless. The inju- 
ries long oppressing themselves, had been, up to this time, endured; but 
this outrage armed them all in one common cause, and they felt that the 
hour for a final struggle had arrived. At this time the Roman writers 
themselves acknowledge that the violence and injustice of the Emperor's 
servants gave the Britons just cause to lay aside their private animosities, 
and aid their Queen in the recovery of their lost liberty. The daughter 
of Cadallan placed herself at the head of her devoted partisans, and the 
disunion which Caesar had hailed as one of the happy causes of his suc- 
cess, was at once extinguished in the bosoms of the British chiefs ; one 
spirit alone animating the mass — the desire to avenge the injuries of 
their Queen, — a cause which embraced the personal wrongs of each indi- 
vidual. But before the actual outbreak of the tremendous insurrection 
which filled all the Roman empire with amazement and consternation, 
secret councils were held by the chieftains to concert measures for their 
rebellion. Among these was Venusius, who with his party had warmly 
espoused the cause of Boadicea ; and at these meetings the Queen is said 
to have personally addressed her faithful ministers on the subject of 
their mutual wrongs. One of the evils of the Roman yoke on which 
she insisted, was the introduction of vices unknown in Britain, except 
through the medium of those jesters and buffoons, whom their tyrants 
encouraged to corrupt the nation. These persons were employed, it 
would appear, in the theatres at Camalodunum and Caerleon, 2 which had 
become colonized by Romans, and where the novelty of such spectacles 

1 Tacitus, Stowe, Milton, Echard. 

a The remains of the Roman theatres are yet to he seen in some parts of 
B.ritain, as Caerleon, in Monmouthshire, &c. 



BOADICEA. 55 

as theatrical shows or entertainments would create vast astonishment and 
admiration, and doubtless obtain many followers among the uninformed 
Britons. Boadicea, in her celebrated address to her noble chiefs, stig- 
matized these persons as ''Rome's instruments and Britain's vipers;" 
remarking that " Tiberius, though extremely covetous, would have been 
glad to have made peace, and Nero would still have followed his fiddling 
trade at home, had not the discords of Britain been fomented and kept 
alive by his fiddlers here !" From this address we discover that there 
had been a party among the Britons in favour of Rome ; and that this 
still existed appears from the Londoners withholding their support to the 
approaching insurrection, for which they were destined afterwards to 
suffer severely. 

The Trinobantes, and neighboring states, are said in the outset to have 
warmly espoused the cause of the Queen, and joined her with their 
forces. To these different states Boadicea had from time to time ad- 
dressed herself, in epistles composed for the inhabitants of such towns 
and provinces as had united in resolving to throw off the Roman yoke, 
and which treated not only on that, but on other subjects of national 
importance ; for the Queen, we are informed, was " well versed in let- 
ters," 1 which is not surprising, as the Roman intercourse with this island 
had been long enough carried on to enable her to become acquainted 
with Latin forms of literature ; and we find that in this early period the 
Britons were not only possessed of traditions, but had written records of 
their own affairs, 2 — the characters, indeed, being peculiar to their age, 
and the knowledge of them limited to the persons of highest rank only, 
and the Druids. Gildas, the British poet and historian, attributes the 
scarcity of British records to the artifice of their enemies, the Romans, 
who were anxious to destroy every memorial of past times with the Dru- 
idical religion, by whose ministers they were preserved. 3 

The Queen had, in the first instance, dispatched a messenger to her 
brother Corbred, King of the Scots, father of Corbred Gald, a young 
prince whom she had herself nursed and educated at her own court, and 
who passed many years with Boadicea amid the chequered scenes of her 
eventful life. 4 She complained in bitter terms of the injuries inflicted on 
herself and her daughters, by which she, his only sister, had been brought 
to extreme misery, and assured him that the Britons were ready to arm 
in her cause. Corbred was deeply moved by these sad tidings. He sent 

1 Bale reckons both Arviragus and Boadicea among the authors of Britain. 

2 Gildas. 

3 Conquovar Mac Nessa, King of Ulster, a. d. 48, ordered the precepts of the 
Druids of Ireland to be committed to writing. — Toland. 

" In private the ancient Scots were accustomed to use for writing, ciphers 
which did not resemble the letters of other nations, but rather the characters 
used by the Egyptians, being figures of animals made into the form of letters, as 
appears from the characters on the ancient tombs to this time ; and though these 
ancient hieroglyphics are now lost, they have a kind of writing peculiar to them- 
selves, which was once in common use, and those who have the ancient speech 
pronounce the aspirations and dipthongs better than any of the rest." — Holinshed. 

* Scott. 



56 BOADICEA. 

a herald to Catus, the Roman general, requiring him to obtain reparation 
from those Romans who had so basely treated the British Princesses. If 
this was not done, the King declared he would himself be her avenger. 
The lloman general's reply was full of contempt and ridicule. He 
scornfully upbraided Corbred for interfering with the Roman officers' 
affairs, "who were above taking notice either of his sister or her daughters, 
and at liberty to treat them as other women, according to their pleasure." 

Corbred, indignant at this new insolence, hesitated no longer, but 
making an alliance with the Picts and people of the Isle of Man, soon 
raised a strong body for the enterprise, intended to act with the forces 
raised by the Queen in her own behalf. But before these could form a 
junction, a sudden and unlooked-for event precipitated the rebellion into 
an outbreak. This event was the reduction of the Island of Mona 1 by 
Suetonius Paulinus, then head of the Roman forces in Britain. This 
celebrated general was sent to Britain in the year 61, by Nero, to take 
the command of the Roman forces. He was already distinguished for 
merit and military talent, and to this was joined the strongest impulses 
of ambition, for he had formed a determination that his successes in 
Britain should equal those of Corbulo in Armenia. To reduce the whole 
island was his ultimate aim. His first undertaking was, however, the 
reduction of the Ordovices, or people of North Wales. These were the 
inhabitants of the present counties of Denbigh, Carnarvon, Merioneth, 
and Montgomery. 2 

The Ordovices received that name at the time of their conquering 
Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and North Gloucestershire; it signified 
the " Great Huiccii," or " the Honourable Wices ;" and after their expul- 
sion thence, other British settlers in that part were called Wigantes or 
Huiccii. 2 This seems to be the people who were ranged under the standard 
of Venusius, who had warmly espoused the cause of Boadicea. 

Agricola, at that time only twenty years of age, had accompanied 
Paulinus in his expedition against the Ordovices, and resided with him 
at his head-quarters. Under this great commander, the young warrior 
acquired that experience which, at a subsequent period, enabled him to 
accomplish the reduction of the island; the cherished hope of Suetonius 
himself, though he did not live to accomplish his high aim. 

The people whom Suetonius had resolved to not only subdue, but 
extirpate and destroy, were brave, warlike, and devoted to their religion ; 
the enterprise presented, therefore, very great difficulties: it was the more 
desirable to accomplish, because this spot, the court of ecclesiastical and 
civil justice, had become a rendezvous for every British malcontent. To 
enable himself more effectually to reduce this island, Suetonius withdrew 
the veteran soldiers from Camalodunum, little foreseeing the disastrous 
consequences which might arise from leaving so important a hold unpro- 
tected against their enemies. About this time, Petilius Cerealis 3 received 
from Nero an appointment in Britain, to occupy the place of Vettius 
Volanus, who, for his mildness of disposition, was recalled. Petilius was 

1 Anglesey. a Life of Agricola. s Green's History of Worcester. 

* Tacitus and Hume say that Petilius was first sent oyer a. d. 70. 



BOADICEA. 57 

very unlike his predecessor ; already distinguished as a skilful veteran, in 
the war against Civilis, the Batavian chief, he was well suited to propa- 
gate the terror of the Roman arms in Britain. Suetonius himself was 
also remarkable for his severity; so that the Britons were oppressed in 
every way. Such was the state of things when the Roman general 
penetrated for the first time as far as Mona, the seat of their mysterious 
worship, and now crowded with inhabitants, many of whom had sought 
its shelter as a last retreat. 2 

For the purpose of the intended invasion of the island, Suetonius 
caused ships to be made with flat bottoms, for a steep, uncertain shore. 
"In these the foot were conveyed over; the cavalry followed, by fording 
in shallow water, or swimming, and leading the horses. On the shore 
stood a motley troop of armed men, mixed with women running up and 
down among them, dressed like Furies, in black garments, their hair 
dishevelled, and torches in their hands. The Druids also attended, lifting 
up their hands to heaven, and uttering dreadful execrations. The novelty 
of the sight so struck the soldiers, that they stood as it were motionless, 
exposing themselves to the enemies' weapons, till, animated by the 
exhortations of their general, and encouraging one another not to fear an 
army of women and madmen, they advanced, bore down all they met, 
and involved them in their own fire. Garrisons were afterwards placed 
in the towns, and the groves, sacred to their bloody superstitions, cut 
down; for it was their practice to offer the blood of their prisoners on 
their altars, and consult the gods by the entrails of men." Such is the 
relation Tacitus gives of the taking of Mona ; and the spot in Anglesey 
where Suetonius and his barbarous legions butchered the unoffending 
Druids is still shown at a ferry, called Porthamel, across the Menai 
Straits. The horrors of such a slaughter baffle description ; men and 
women alike fell victims, and deluged their own altars with their blood. 
Suetonius expected, now that he had effected his object in reducing Mona, 
that the whole of Britain would be reduced to the Roman yoke; but he 
was altogether deceived in his calculation : while yet employed in arrang- 
ing matters for the security of his new conquest, he received the alarming 
news that the whole country was in a state of revolt. 

The tidings of what had been done by Suetonius Paulinus had become 
very quickly known through the island, and reached the ears of Boadicea. 
She saw that the moment was arrived for the decisive stroke. The veteran 
troops had been called from Camalodunum, to assist Suetonius in the 
reduction of Mona; and Boadicea perceived that the city might easily be 
taken by her forces. The Scottish succours from Corbred had not arrived ; 
but the warlike Queen determined not to delay her intended plans for 
their arrival. Prior to the approaching contest, Boadicea, in conformity 
with the customs of her times, determined to encourage her followers, 
by addressing them on the subject of the strife in which they were about 
to engage. For this purpose she mounted an eminence raised of turf, 
from which she could be seen by the whole assembled multitude, amounting 
to as many as 80,000 men. The appearance of the Queen is said to have 

1 Tacitus. 



58 BOADICEA. 

struck awe into the heart of each beholder, by the dignity and majesty 
of her demeanour. In person, Boadicea was of the largest size, her face 
was beautiful, but fierce and stern ; some annalists say, " terrible of aspect, 
savage of countenance." Her complexion was brilliantly fair,' and her 
yellow locks, which were spread all over her shoulders, reached down to 
her hips. She wore a plaited tunic of several colours, drawn close about 
her bosom, and over that a vestment made of some stuff of British manu- 
facture, fastened by a clasp, and adopted in compliment to the southern 
natives ; the chequered robe beneath being the produce of the north of 
Britain. About her neck she wore a thick collar, or chain of gold, 
esteemed a mark of the highest command, and expressive of the dignified 
quality of the wearer. She addressed the whole assembly, in a voice 
loud enough to reach the ears of the most distant of her eager auditors 
who crowded around her, many of whom were women. 

Her speech was as follows : — 

"My friends and faithful subjects, — I do believe that there is no man 
here who is ignorant how much freedom and poverty are preferable to 
bondage and wealth. 

" Since the Romans have been acquainted with this island, there is no 
indignity, however vile, no cruelty, however grievous, which we have not 
suffered. 

" Are we not contemned and trodden under foot by those who have 
studied only to become our lords and tyrants? Are we not bereaved of 
our riches and possessions ? Do we not till their land, and pay them all 
manner of tribute, even for our persons ? Amongst other nations, death 
is a deliverance from slavery ; but with the Romans, the dead do still 
live, even to augment their riches. 2 

" And can we hope for mercy at their hands, who have already treated 
us so barbarously ? Even he who taketh a wild beast, will at first cherish 
it, and seek by gentleness to win it to familiarity. Are we not, then, 
the authors of our own misery, in suffering them to set foot in our 

1 The ancient British maidens were remarkable for a dazzling whiteness of 
skin, which, accompanied by a ruddy and florid complexion, was thought to be 
produced by the humidity of the climate. [Xiphiline.] Fedelmia was so noted 
for her fair complexion as to be surnamed " White as silver." Carbrey Niafear, 
King of Leinster, in order to obtain the hand of this princess from her father, 
Conquovar Mac Nessa, King of Ulster, was compelled to cede a large portion of 
his territories. Three fruitful tracts of land, extending from Loch-au-Choi- 
deagh and Tara to the sea were, by Carbrey's consent, annexed to the dominions 
of Conquovar, as his daughter's marriage settlement. [O'FIaherty, Keating.] 
Boadicea, Claudia, and St. Helena, are especially noted for beauty of complex- 
ion. [Xiphiline.] 

2 It is supposed that the expression in the speech of Boadicea (given by Dion 
Cassius) which refers to taxation thus — "We are forced to pay for the bodies of 
our very dead," relates to the impost of the Romans on those Britons buried ac- 
cording to national custom, instead of being burnt like the Romans ; and that a 
high price was demanded for the privilege of burying the higher orders in their 
best garments, and laying by their side their axe and dagger, as we have often 
had instances in the openings of cromlechs, — a custom to which the Britons con- 
tinued obstinately to adhere. 



BOADICEA. 59 

island ? We should have slain them afar off, and driven them back even 
as we did Csesar. 

" Better were it to lose our lives in defence of our country than to drag 
on a miserable existence in servitude. 

" Wherefore, my well-beloved citizens, friends, and relations, let us, 
while the remembrance of our ancient liberty remains, seek to recover, 
not only the name of freedom, but the enjoyment of liberty itself. Let 
us set an example to posterity. Let us not forget what we have once 
been ; for, if so, what can we expect of our children, brought up in 
misery and bondage ? 

" I do not recall these things to rouse you to rebellion, for I well know 
you sufficiently abhor the Roman name, neither do I seek to put you in 
fear of what might happen hereafter ; but I would return my hearty 
thanks and commendations, that you do thus willingly obey my sum- 
mons, unawed by your powerful oppressors, and proving yourselves 
prompt, zealous, and courageous, and willing to live or die for your 
Queen and country. Do your enemies outnumber us ? Regard their 
strength. We do so much exceed them, that our army is strong as stono 
walls, and one of our targets is of more value than all the armour they 
bear. The victory will soon be ours. They must soon be our captives. 
Yet, should we loose the field, we may easily escape the calamities of a 
defeat; for their heavy arms will impede their pursuit, and the hills and 
marshes will intercept them. 

" We can endure hunger, thirst, cold and sunshine ; they live in tents 
or houses : baked meats, wine and oil, are necessary to therh ; if these 
fail or the summer sun oppress them, they languish and consume : but 
to us, every herb or root is meat, every juice an oil, water is pleasant 
wine, and every tree affords a habitation. 1 

" Besides this, the country is well known to us, and we have many 
friends ; but the Romans are strangers, and without succor in case of 
need. We can swim over every river, naked or clad, while they require 
mighty ships to convey them. 

" Let us then courageously attack them, and let us teach them that 
hares and foxes can never match with wolves and greyhounds." 

At these words Boadicea released from beneath her mantle a hare, 
which had been purposely concealed ; 2 and the sight of this prognostic of 
success was received with loud shouts by the people, who hailed it with 
a loud shout, and vented freely their indignant feelings against the ill- 
treatment of their Queen. 

1 Hares, fowls, geese, and fish, the Britons were by their religion forbidden to 
eat. 

3 The hare released by Boadicea is generally supposed to betoken the tearful- 
ness of the Romans. The hare was used by the Britons for the purposes of di- 
vination : and though they never killed it for the table, from the delight which 
they took in breeding it, they kept numbers about the courts of their chiefs. 
The idea of a hare-warren, and the model of a park, were originally derived by 
us from the primeval Britons. [Whittaker's Manchester.] An instance of one 
of the warrens yet exists at Kimble, in Bucks, once the abode of King Cymbe- 
line. The speech of the Queen seems to infer that the fox was also held in vene- 
ration by the people. 



60 BOADICEA. 

Boadicea now recalled their attention, while she proceeded with her 
prayers or supplication ; wherein she especially addressed herself to the 
deity of woman worshipped by the British people, under the name of 
Andatc or Andraste, their Goddess of Victory;' and this appeal, as well 
as her former speech, is worthy of a more enlightened age. 

" I thank thee, Adraste," were the words she used, "and call upon 
thee, not as a ruler such as JVIessalina, as Agrippina, or as Nero, which 
last is called a man, but is indeed a woman ; but I call upon thee as the 
goddess of our British warriors, whose wives are no less brave and valiant 
than themselves. I beseech thee, since I am Queen of this mighty people, 
to grant them health, liberty, and victory over the wicked, insatiable, and 
luxurious Romans, whose lives are devoted to covetousness and cruelty. 
Let not, I beseech thee, the tyranny of Nero and Domitian any longer 
prevail. That thou wilt be our helper, our defender and our saviour, I 
heartily beseech thee !" 

At the conclusion of this dignified and affecting prayer, Boadicea de- 
parted to prepare for battle. 

This appeal to Adraste, the female goddess, is rendered so much the 
more affecting, when we learn that no less than five thousand females 
had enlisted in the causo of their royal countrywoman, wholly bent to 
avenge her wrongs, or perish in the contest. 2 This was peculiarly meri- 
torious, as every individual who went to the war with the sovereign, took 
his or her own expenses, the service being esteemed one of honour to those 
who engaged in it. 3 In those times the women had no less courage than 
the men, and on all occasions like the present, every stout British maiden 
or married woman, unless about to become a mother, marched with her 
husband and brothers to the defence of her country. Even the women 
advanced in years accompanied the army, encouraging the men to valour, 
and assailing the enemy on their approach with stones, while the younger 
of their sex fought among the ranks, side by side with the men. On 
departing for the strife, they had a religious custom of slaying the first 
living creature that they found, in whose blood they not only bathed their 
swords, but also tasted the same, in the assurance that they were about to 
obtain some great and noted victory. Many hoary priestesses followed 
the British armies, clad in white garments bound with a brazen girdle, 
and having their feet naked, whose office it was to sacrifice the prisoners 
of war, and by these victims predict the success of the strife. To render 
themselves competent to share the dangers of the field of battle, the 
British women laboured incessantly to equal the opposite sex in strength; 
despising alike heat and cold, they travelled barefoot or in rude carriages, 
and had their food trussed behind them on their horses or their own 
shoulders, never refusing to undergo any labour or fatigue assigned to 
them by their leader. 4 

1 Andate, or Andraste, was the British Goddess of Victory, who had a temple 
at Camalodunum, and to whom the Britons sacrificed their prisoners of war. — 
Ancient Universal History, from Dion Cassius. 

2 Holinshed. 3 Ibid. 

4 A woman of the Cimbri, rather than survive a defeat, would kill even her 
own flying relatives, and having strangled her infant, and cast it beneath the 



BOADICEA. 61 

The Britons, animated by the speech of their heroic Queen, set out 
against the Romans; Boadicea first attacking the colony of Camalodu- 
num. 1 

The following account is given of the state of Camalodunum, which 
yet was incomplete, or in progress, and laid out, as will be seen, rather 
for pleasure than security, while it was rendered defenceless by the ab- 
straction of its garrison of veterans: — "Camalodunum, the standing 
court or palace royal of their kings, while Cymbeline lived, was now be- 
come the centre of pleasant retirement to the Romans, not the rendez- 
vous of their power. The outside state of the town seemed very flourish- 
ing; for, besides the old palace, and other buildings of the Britons (for 
the Romans, saith Segonius, did not use to destroy the buildings they 
found), it had a senate-house for consultations, a theatre for plays, that 
goodly Temple of Claudius, and undoubtedly, as well they as the rest, 
answerable to the Roman magnificence. The colony lay open on all 
sides, the better to enjoy free walks and air about; yet safety was not 
altogether neglected, though pleasure was rather sought than strength. 2 
It had no trench, no palisades, nor other defence about itselfe ; but it had 
the majestie of the Roman name (a reputed wall of brass), the aire of a 
fresh conquest, and sundrie strength in the marches or pale of the pro- 
vince, where the Roman garrison watched and warded in castles, sconces, 
aud other presidiary places." 3 

The city was, as may even yet be observed by the ancient remains, in 
a progressive and imperfect state, and on this account was chosen by the 
Britons as their first point of attack ; 4 they had another and a still stronger 
reason, the great hatred they entertained for the veteran soldiers. 

The inhabitants of the colony are said to have had warnings of their 
approaching ruin. A noise as if of contention was heard in the court, 

chariot-wheels, ended the horrid scene by her own self-destruction. Lucius An- 
toninus, one of the Roman generals in Britain, in making application to Rome for 
fresh succours, stated that their enemies were never more cruel and fierce, not 
only the men, but also the women, who cared not for the loss of their own lives, 
so that they might die revenged. — Uolinsked. 

1 This celebi-ated place, first taken by Claudius, a. d. 44, and garrisoned with 
veterans of the second, ninth and fourteenth legions, had since that period been 
the seat of the Roman government, being sometimes also called Colonia, as ap- 
pears from some money of Claudius, inscribed COL. CAMALODVN ; and by 
medals the Emperor had struck in honour of his conquest, bearing on one side 
his own efligies, with the legend, " TI. CLAUD. CMS. AUG. GER. P. M. T. R. 
P. XII., DIP. XIIX. ;" and on the reverse a plough, drawn by an ox and a cow 
yoked, driven by a man; above them, COL. CAMALODUNUM AUG." Plautius, 
the propraetor of Camalodunum, had been recalled a. d. 48, after which Ostorius 
Scapula, his successor, had withdrawn the chief part of the veteran legions from 
the place; to which measure is attributable the destruction of the colony by Boa- 
dicea ; because the Trinobantes, who had been awed by the presence of that 
military force, were thus encouraged to unite with the Queen's forces in their 
stroke for freedom. 

2 According to Tacitus, "the Roman generals attended to improvements of 
taste or elegance, but neglected the useful. They embellished the province, but 
took no care to defend it." 

3 History of Colchester. 4 Hoare. Notes on Giraldus Cambrensis 

6 



62 BOADICEA. 

and a great tumult in the theatre, that scene of vicious entertainment 
which had been censured by Boadicea, in her address to the Britons ; for 
she knew that they participated in these entertainments, and had become 
accustomed to intermingle familiarly with their former enemies. Perhaps 
the Druidcsses were concerned in these supposed supernatural sounds — 
for such they were considered, " seeing that no man there either spake or 
mourned." ' These weird priestesses seem to have been acquainted with 
the art of ventriloquism, and were in some of their mysteries accustomed 
to conceal themselves in certain recesses, and by giving forth sentences 
or sounds when invisible to their listeners, to create the utmost astonish- 
ment. 2 The signs of the approaching calamity, as viewed by the Bomans 
of Camalodunum, prove them to have been quite as superstitious as their 
less-informed neighbours, the Britons. Certain houses or buildings, 
appearing like a colony in ruins, are said to have been seen in the river 
Thames, and the sea between the island and Gaul appeared to flow with 
blood. 3 To crown all these evil omens, the image of the goddess Victoria 
set up by Claudius, without any apparent cause, fell from its base, and lay 
extended on the ground, with its face averted, as if that deity yielded to 
the enemies of Borne. This last certainly looks much like a contrivance 
of the Druids, which is the more probable, as women are said to have 
rushed here and there, in restless ecstasy among the people, with frantic 
screams, denouncing impending ruin : " Destruction is at hand ! destruc- 
tion is at hand I" Such were the hideous clamours heard " in a foreign 
accent," 4 which are said to have penetrated even into the very council- 
chamber of the Bomans, filling their hearts with terror and dismay, so 
tha£ they clearly perceived that secret enemies mixed in all their delibe- 
rations. Suddenly, while an undefined fear was on the people of Cama- 
lodunum, Boadicea, with her countless multitude, appeared before the 
place. The Bomans had but a few soldiers, and in the utmost alarm, 
sent off to Catus Decianus, procurator of the province, for a reinforcement. 
That officer could spare only two hundred men, and those but half armed, to 
assist them in their great extremity. It appears, however, that the temple 
of Claudius was strongly fortified, and there they resolved to make their 
stand, without, however, concerting any measures for their defence, being 

1 Tacitus, Speed. 

3 An oracular stone is mentioned by the author of the " Celtic Druids," known 
by the name of "the Great Cannon:" it rests upon a bed of rock, where a road 
plainly appears to have been made, leading to the hole, which, at the entrance, 
is three feet wide, six feet deep, and about three feet six inches high. Within 
this aperture, on the right hand, is a round hole, two feet diameter, perforated 
quite through the rock, sixteen feet, and running from south to north. In the 
above-mentioned aperture a man might be concealed, and predict future events 
to those that came to consult the oracle, and be heard distinctly on the north 
side of the rock, where the hole is not visible. This might make the credulous 
Britona think the predictions proceeded solely from the rock deity. The voice 
on the outside was distinctly conveyed to the person in the aperture, as was 
several times tried. The circumference of this rock is ninety-six feet. 

a " The sea was purpled with blood, and at the ebb tide the figures of human 
bodies were traced on the sand." — Tacitus. 

* Tacitus. 



BOADICEA. t>3 

taken so entirely by surprise, from the profound peace which had seemed 
to exist around them prior to this unexpected assault, that neither pali- 
sade nor ditch was thrown up, nor were any of the women, the aged, or 
infirm, sent out of the garrison. The colony was therefore taken with 
ease, and laid waste with fire and sword ; the temple, where the military 
had sought to secure themselves, was laid seige to by the Queen and her 
exulting chiefs, and after holding out for two days, was taken by storm. 
Such was the carnage, that it is computed not less than from 70,000 to 
80,000 fell on the occasion, aged persons, women, and children, alike 
falling victims to the Britons' too just fury. It is necessary to the vora- 
city of history to add, awful as the picture is to contemplate, that the 
mandates of carnage were given by the stern Queen herself. Her ven- 
geance extended yet further, being, as is generally believed, excited by 
the conduct of Seutonius in Anglesey, on whom she was desirous of re- 
torting, by her cruel justice; nor can the horrors of Paganism appear in 
darker colours, than the picture of this revenge. Punishments, even for 
the women, 1 were invented, too hideous to be contemplated, that in 
nothing should the Romans be outdone in evil. 

After this terrible sacrifice to vengeance, both the priests and warriors 
indulged in carousing and feasting in the wood called Andates, and in 
the several temples, especially that of the goddess Andate, invoked by 
Boadicea in her address. Boadicea then headed her warriors again, and 
set forth in quest of further victory. It was, no doubt, by the great Ro- 
man road which led from Colchester through the middle of the county 
of Essex, towards Bishop Stortford, &c, in Hertfordshire, that Boadicea 
pursued her course. This way is, in modern days, known as Stane 
Street. 

Petilius Cerealis, at the time when these dreadful occurrences took 
place, was at Verulam, and marching in haste thence towards Colchester, 
" to rescue that which was already lost," was encountered by the furious 
Britons. 2 The ninth legion, under the command of the renowned con- 
queror of Batavia, was routed, the foot-soldiers all slain, and Petilius 
himself, with his cavalry, was forced to escape to his camp for safety, 
where he entrenched himself for a time, "not daring to attempt anything 
farther." The pursuit was followed up with great slaughter, 6000 Ro- 
mans being slain, and about 3000 of the confederate Britons. Catus, 
the procurator, was in the engagement, and, being wounded, made his 
escape into Gaul. 3 

1 Of whom some of the noblest were treated by Boadicea, as they had been by 
Suetonius. Nero was, in the end, obliged to recal Suetonius, because he was 
considered an unfit person to compose the alarmed minds of the Britons, from 
having both permitted and inflicted so many cruelties. — Hume. 

2 The ninth legion had received an accession of force from Germany, of eight 
auxiliary cohorts and one thousand horse. — Tacitus. 

3 "At the bare tidings of the disasters encountered by the Romans, Catus, liko 
a tall man, took to his heels, and sailed into Gallia." — Speed. " Posthumus, the 
camp-master, durst not resist Boadicea, and refused to fight against her; indeed 
such terror had she infused into her enemies, that this fear had become quite 
general. ' ' — Tacitus. 



64 BOADICEA. 

After the conquest of Camalodunum, the Queen had been joined by 
the forces of her brother, the King of Scots, who had aided her in the 
defeat of Petilius 1 and his troops. 

The successful Boadicea pursued her career towards Verulara, at that 
time a place of greater importance than London itself, the royal seat of 
Cassibelaunus ; it had become a 'municipium' of the Romans. A muni- 
cipium was very different from a colony, such as Camalodunum, which 
was a city from which the inhabitants were expelled, to make way for 
the new-comers; 2 it was an enfranchised city, which possessed every privi- 
lege of Roman citizens, "having senators, knights, and commons; magis- 
trates and priests, censors, ediles, quaestors, and flamens." 3 

The devotion shown by the Britons of Verulam to their conquerors, 
had obtained for them this signal favour; and it was to punish them for 
this, and for their secession from the customs and religion of their ances- 
tors, that Boadicea was induced to attack the town. Verulam had been 
compassed with walls by the Romans, and the great Watling Street, by 
which the warlike Queen had approached the place, passed quite through 
the city. The modern St. Albans has been erected within the limits of 
the ancient city ; but though some portion of its walls were standing in 
the days of Holinshed, and by him described as substantially built, the 
modern ruins do not afford much information of the extent of the original 
foundations. Of the richness and beauty of the place, a better idea may 
be obtained from the researches made in the reign of the Saxon King 
Edgar, by Eldred, then Abbot of St. Albans, who was desirous of en- 
larging the religious establishment there, which had been founded by 
Offa, King of the Mercians. It occurred to the zealous prelate that some 
relics of the ancient Roman Verulam might be obtained, and on digging 
amid the ruins, he discovered a number of pillars, portions of antique 
work, thresholds, door-frames, and sundry other pieces of fine masonry 
for windows, &c, well adapted for the purpose of beautifying the religious 
structure he desired to adorn. Of these also, " some were of porphyrite 
stone, some of divers kinds of marble, touch, and alabaster, besides many 
curious devices of hard metal ; in finding whereof, he thought himself an 
happy man, and his success to be greatly guided by St. Alban." 4 The 
good abbot also found "many pillars of brass, and sockets of latten, ala- 
baster, and touch, all which he laid aside by great heaps, intending to 
employ them in laying the foundation of a new abbey, but died before he 
could commence the building." 5 The examination of the things already 
discovered by Eldred, was prosecuted by his successor, Abbot Eadmer, 
and led to a further search in the ancient walls of the city, which was 
rewarded by the discovery of numerous other pieces " of excellent work- 
manship." The emissaries of the abbot, in the progress of their re- 
searches, came to some vaults underground, " in which stood certain idols, 
and a number of altars, very superstitiously and religiously adorned, as 

1 Agricola served under Petilius "in an ordinary capacity, [a. d. 70.] and 
shared the common dangers of the war." [Tacitus.] Petilius Cerealis had en- 
countered the Brigantes in many battles, Yenusius holding him at bay, and re- 
maining to the last unconquered. [Milton.] 

2 Holinshed. 3 Pennant. i Holinshed. 6 Ibid. 



BOADICEA. 65 

the pagans had most probably left them in time of necessity. The images 
were formed of sundry metals, and some of them of pure gold, and the 
altars were richly covered. Eadmer removed all the ornaments from the 
altars, and appropriated them to his own building, and destroyed an im- 
mense number of these idols, which were only admirable for beauty of 
construction, but unavailable in point of material. Many curious pots, 
jugs, and cruses' of stone and wood were taken up by him, most artifi- 
cially wrought and carved, with an immense quantity of household stuff, 
as if the whole furniture of the city had been brought thither for the 
purpose of being hid in the vaults." The spot of this singular discovery 
seems to have been used as a place of burial ; for Eadmer is said to have 
found there pots of gold, silver, brass, glass, and earth, some of which 
were filled with ashes and bones, and the mouths turned downwards, 
which vessels being broken in pieces by the abbot, the metal was melted, 
and reserved for the purpose of garnishing the church. 1 

The fact of the discovery of such a quantity of rich furniture, in such 
a spot, is accounted for by the alarm which the people naturally felt on 
the approach of the Queen, after her recent successes. The wealth of 
the place is expressly mentioned as one of the causes for the attack of 
Boadicea, it being the site of one of the British Mints : the word Veb 
may be distinguished on the coins, though the name of the reigning 
prince is not legible. 2 

This noble seat of Roman grandeur combined with British industry, 
shared the fate of Camaloduuum, being laid waste with fire and sword f 
and so general a scene of carnage ensued, that the loss of the Romans 
and their allies, on the occasion, is said to have amounted to 70,000 
men. 4 The fate of the municipium has been chronicled by the pen of 
Spenser, who, in character of the Genius of the place, says : — 
" I was that city which the garland wore 
Of Britain's pride, delivered unto me 
By Roman victors, which it won of yore : 
Though nought at all but ruins now I be, 
And lie in mine own ashes, as ye see. 
Verlame I was : what boots it what I was, 
Sith now I am but weeds and wasteful grass ?" 

Ruins of Time. 
It is necessary to turn from the footsteps of the ruthless Boadicea, 
and to trace the progress of the Roman general from Mona, where he 
was staying at the time of these signal losses. 

Suetonius, on receiving news of these disasters, quitted Anglesey, and 
with the greatest intrepidity marched through a hostile country towards 
London, 5 by the great British road, called Watling street, 6 which ran 

1 Holinshed ; who observes that " numbers of vessels of a similar kind, though 
of finer earth, of six or eight gallons a piece, were found, a.d. 1578, in a well at 
Little Massingham, in Norfolk: and also in Henry VIII. 's reign, containing old 
British coins and those of the Roman Emperors." 

a Pennant. 3 Girald. Cambrensis. 

4 Tacitus, Speed, C. Daniel, Howel. 6 Giraldus Cambrensis. 

6 The noted Watling Street, which was the direct road from Chester (the city 
of the Legions) to Dover, did not enter London, [Dr. Stukeley,] but in its course 
0* E 



66 BOADICEA. 

immediately from "Wales by Wroxeter Wall, High Cross, Towcester and 
Verulam, to London; and necessarily he was compelled to pass through 
the dominions of the Iceni in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. 1 

Notwithstanding the many difficulties and dangers which necessarily 
attended this progress through a hostile country, Suetonius Paulinus suc- 
ceeded in reaching London in safety. 

The Roman general was at first doubtful, whether he should not fix on 
that place as the seat of the war ; many considerations, however, deterred 
him • and the smallness of his own army, as well as the fatal temerity of 
Petilius, made him determine by the sacrifice of one province to secure 
the rest. 2 Vain were the prayers and tears of the wretched inhabitants, 
nothing could shake the resolution of Paulinus, or divert him from his 
plan, when once laid out in his own mind. The signal for a march was 
given, and those only were left behind who by advanced age or weakness 
could not follow. 3 

The Queen had not forgotten that in the season of her deepest sorrows, 
when all other Britons had flocked from every quarter of the island 
to her standard, the Londoners alone had hung back ; this act had marked 
them out as objects of especial indignation and vengeance, and too soon 
was her wrath to fall on all that were found; she advanced upon the 
city, took it, and put to the sword all that were found. Thus had she well 
gained the surnames of "the Warlike" and " the Victorious!" 

A change was, however, at hand ; the wheel of fortune was turning, 
and the period that was to terminate her frantic vengeance was approach- 
ing. Suetonius, though he had forsaken the city of London, had not 
removed far distant, having encamped his forces in the neighbourhood, in 
a quadrangle of about 130 feet in extent. 4 

It was a moment of terrible excitement for the contending parties, 
when the respective leaders, prior to the contest which was to decide 
their fortunes, impressed upon the multitudes who were assembled, their 
hopes of success and sentiments of patriotic courage and enthusiasm. 
With very different hopes were they inspired. The Queen's countless 
throng, elated with conquest, and certain of success, was without order of 
battle. Their wives and children were brought with them, as witnesses 
of their valour, 5 or assistants in the fight, while those intended as spec- 
tators only, were placed in waggons around the spot fixed on for their 
engagement. The waggons or carts used as land carriages by the Britons 
prior to the introduction of the conveniences and luxuries of life by the 
Ptomans, were thus employed in warlike expeditions, and the chariots 

from Verulam, and Elstree or Snellamasis, crossed the Oxford road at Tyburn, 
and thence ran to the west of Westminster [Higden] over the Thames, and on- 
ward into Kent. From Tyburn this road proceeded over part of Hyde Park by 
May Fair, "through St. James's Park to the street by Old Palace Yard, called 
the Wool Staple, to the Thames ; there formerly stood an old gate, one part of 
the arch of which is still left, but not Roman. On the opposite side of the river is 
Stane Gate Ferry, which is the continuation of this street to Canterbury, and so 
to the three famous sea-ports, Rutupise, Dubius, and Lemannis." 

1 IToare's Notes on Girald. Cambrensis. 2 Girald. Cambrensis. 

3 Tacitus, Speed, 4 Hone's Every-Day Book. 5 Sharon Turner. 



BOADICEA. 67 

they used as conveyances for travelling accommodation being rendered 
equally available both for peace and war. On the chariots of war, how- 
ever, immense drums were constructed, by stretching skins over them, 
which emitted very powerful sounds. 

The British chariots, called by them Esscda, and by Tacitus Covini, 
were guided by the principal warrior; the Britons esteeming it most 
honourable to drive the car into the thickest of the enemy's ranks, and to 
distinguish themselves by braving every danger : it was the custom for a 
number of combatants to mount together on the same vehicle. The 
practice of fighting in chariots, in use among the Britons, has been com- 
pared to that among the Trojans of old, as described by Homer; but 
this difference existed with the Greeks and Trojans, that the driver of 
the chariot was secondary in rank to the chief of high renown who 
fought. 

In one of these warlike cars, such as we have described in the history 
of Cartismandua, appeared Boadicea and her two daughters, who sat 
before her. The Queen drove through the ranks of her faithful fol- 
lowers, and, in turn, addressed herself to the several nations who had 
assembled in her behalf: "This was not," she said, "the first time that 
the Britons had been led to battle by a woman ; but now she did not 
come to boast the pride of a long line of ancestry, nor even to recover her 
kingdom and the plundered wealth of her family." She took the field, 
like the meanest among them, to assert the cause of public liberty, and 
to seek revenge for her body, seamed with ignominious stripes, and her 
two daughters, injured beyond forgiveness. 

" But the avenging gods," urged the Queen, " are now at hand. A 
Roman legion dared to face the warlike Britons ; with their lives they 
paid for their rashness; those who survive the carnage of that day, lie 
poorly hid behind their entrenchments, meditating nothing but how to 
save themselves by an ignominious flight. From the din of preparation, 
and the shouts of the British army, the Romans even now shrink back 
with terror; — what will be the case when the assault begins ? Look round 
and view your numbers. Behold the proud display of warlike spirits, and 
consider the motives for which we draw the avenging sword. On this 
spot we must either concpuer, or die with glory : there is no alternative. 
Though a woman, my resolution is fixed ; the men, if they please, may 
survive with infamy, and live in bondage." 1 

The army of Suetonius amounted to 10,000 men, while that of Boa- 
dicea was said to be 230,000. The Romans consisted of the 14th Le- 
gion, 2 the standard-bearers of the 12th, and the vexillarii of the 20th 
Legion, which was under the command of Agricola : there were various 
reinforcements from the neighbouring places besides. Poonius Posthuraus, 
master of the 2ud Legion, called Augusta, had been appointed to lead 
the forward-guard, but refused the orders of his general with contempt, 
and withdrew from the approaching engagement ; after the battle, he was 
so grieved at having lost his share of the glory, that he slew himself. 3 
The great disparity of men between the Roman and British forces, would 

1 Tacitus. 3 Ibid. 3 Girald. Cambrensia, Speed. 



68 BOADICEA. 

have deterred Suetonius from hazarding an engagement, had he not heen 
greatly distressed from want of provisions. He, however, relied on the 
Roman valour, and prior to the onset, addressed his soldiers in terms 
calculated to animate them to do their utmost. " Despise," he said, 
" the savage uproar, the yells and shouts of undisciplined barbarians. In 
that mixed multitude the women outnumber the men. Void of spirit, 
unprovided with arms, they are not soldiers who come to offer battle; 
they are dastard runaways, the refuse of your swords, who have often fled 
before you, and will again betake themselves to flight, when they see the 
conqueror flaming in the ranks of war. In all engagements it is the 
valour of a few that turns the fortune of the day. It will be your im- 
mortal glory, that with a scanty number you can equal the exploits of a 
great and powerful army. Keep your ranks, discharge your javelins, 
rush forward to a close attack ; bear down all with your bucklers, and 
hew a passage with your swords ! Pursue the vanquished, and never 
think of spoil and plunder. Conquer, and victory gives you every- 
thing." 1 

The engagement began. The Roman legion presented a close embo- 
died line : the narrow defile gave them the shelter of a rampart. The 
Britons advanced with ferocity, and discharged their darts at random. 
In that instant the Romans rushed forward in the form of a wedge; the 
auxiliaries followed with equal ardour; the cavalry, at the same time, 
bore down the enemy, and, with their pikes, overpowered all who dared 
to make a stand. The Britons betook themselves to. flight, but their 
waggons in the rear obstructed their passage. A dreadful slaughter fol- 
lowed : the cattle falling in one promiscuous carnage, added to the heaps 
of the slain. Tacitus, who gives the foregoing account, concludes by 
remarking, that " the glory of the day was equal to the most splendid 
victory of ancient times I" — a confession somewhat humbling to the Ro- 
man's pride, one would think, who has just before admitted the greater 
number of the foe consisted of women. Dion Cassius assures us, that 
the field was not won without difficulty. The cruelty and sanguinary 
conduct of the Britons on former occasions, were now, if possible, ex- 
ceeded by the Romans. It is said that not less than 80,000 Britons 
were left dead on the field, while of the Romans, 400 only were slain, 
and as many wounded. The surviving Romans interred their vanquished 
foes, according to their quality, near the place where the battle was 
fought, known to this day, from the circumstance, as Battle Bridge. 2 

1 Tacitus. 

a The ancient camp, called Ambresbury Banks, near Epping, has by some been 
considered the scene of the final defeat of Boadicea by Suetonius. "To me," 
says Gough, "it appears rather to have been a resting-place for the Queen's 
army after her march from Camalodunum." This spot, which is opposite the 
park of Copt Hall, and on the south-east side of the London road, was described 
by Smart Lethieullier, Esq., in a letter to the celebrated antiquary, Mr. Gough. 
" This entrenchment is now entirely overgrown with old oaks and hornbeams. 
It was formerly in the very heart of the forest, and no road near it, till the pre- 
sent turnpike-road from London to Epping was made (almost within the memory 
of man) which now runs within a hundred yards of it ; but the entrenchment can- 
not be thence perceived, by reason of the wood that covers it. It is of an irre- 



boadicea. ey 

The conduct of Pcenius Posthumus, after the successful termination 
of the engagement has been mentioned already. The 11th, 13th, and 
14th Legions were liberally rewarded for their bravery by Nero. 

Boadicea, on beholding the entire overthrow of her army, determined 
to put an end at once to her life and misfortunes. Her own lofty spirit 
was unsubdued, but she scorned to become the spectacle of common gaze 
in a lloman triumph, as she full well remembered was the fate of her 
brother, the noble Caractacus, nor could she stoop to be the vassal of her 
conquerors' will. Like Cleopatra, she determined by poison to terminate 
her existence, consistently preserving to the last the faith she held with 
her people, whom in her speech she had assured that she would not sur- 
vive a defeat, to live either in infamy or bonds. 

The heroic and unfortunate Queen was interred with honour by her 
faithful British followers. Some, who think the last decisive battle was 
fought near Winchester, then a royal city, say that her remains were 
carried thither in state for interment ; ' but so divided are historians on 
the subject, that Salisbury Plain has been asserted to be the site of the 
fierce contest, and Stonehenge itself the spot where the bones of the 
Queen were laid. 

This mysterious monument, the Cor Gaur of the Britons, would, 
indeed, have been fitting for the resting-place of a woman so renowned, 
whose " great despair'' required some emblem which should, for ages 
after her, excite awe, terror, and amazement in the mind. 

Boadicea, during thirty-two years, had enjoyed the rank and dignity 
of a queen, without either prosperity or happiness accompanying the regal 
honours. Deserted by her husband for another, her children branded as 
illegitimate, she had evinced, under every trial, a spirit worthy of her 
race. On being restored to the position she formerly enjoyed as queen- 
consort, she employed her influence for the benefit of the people, and 
kept faith with the Romans till, on her husband's death, they themselves 
roused, by their conduct, the spirit of " the Lioness," as Gildas calls 
her, and brought upon them her resentment and revenge. Even long 
before, her heart must have bled for the bitter trials of her gallant bro- 

gular figure, rather longest from east to west, and on a gentle declivity to the 
south-east. It contains nearly twelve acres, and is surrounded by a ditch and a 
high bank, much worn down by time ; though where there are angles, they are 
still very bold and high. There are no regular openings like gateways or en- 
trances, only two places where the bank has been cut through, and the ditch 
filled up very lately, in order to make a straight road from Debden Green to Ep- 
ping Market. The boundary between the parishes of Waltham and Epping runs 
exactly through the middle of this entrenchment ; whether carried so casually 
by the first settlers of those boundaries, or on purpose, as it was then a remark- 
able spot of ground, I leave to better judgments to conjecture. As I can find no 
reason to attribute this entrenchment either to the Romans, Saxons, or Danes, I 
cannot help concluding it to have been a British oppidum, and perhaps had some 
relation to other remains of that people, which are discoverable in our forest. It 
is distant from Fifield, where the cells and forge were lately discovered, about 
ten miles ; and about eight from Navestoke Common, where we visited the Tem- 
plum Alatum." — Gough's Camden, in Essex, vol. ii. p. 49. 

1 Hoare (see Notes on Girald. Camb.) says the spot is extremely doubtful; ii 
was certainly south of London, and he thinks somewhere in Surrey. 



70 BOADICEA. 

ther Caractacus, whom she had beheld given up, after his honourable 
defence of her own wrongs, to the insults of his enemies, and led in 
triumph to Rome. Boadicea the Warlike, displayed on all occasions, 
an heroic spirit and incredible valour, worthy of the celebrity she obtained 
in her own and succeeding times. 

Many Britons were taken prisoners in the last fatal battle, but, never- 
theless, great numbers had escaped. These woul$ have renewed the 
contest, but the death of the Queen defeated their purpose, and they were 
'forced to submit to their fate and to disperse. 1 At the close of the battle, 
the two unfortunate sisters, daughters of Boadicea, completely armed, 
were still fighting on the field. The Romans made them their prisoners, 
and conducted them to the presence of Suetonius, who, to his honour, 
expressed to them the greatest indignation at the treatment they had 
formerly experienced, and promised to make whatever reparation was 
possible.* Nor did he falsify his word. The eldest princess was married, 
a few months after, by his arrangement, to Marius, the Roman who had 
wronged her, 3 and whom historians call the brother-in-law of Boadicea, 
the youngest daughter of the late Queen, 4 who, with her mother's name, 
inherited her undaunted character and her misfortunes. 

Marius was crowned with a golden crown, and appointed to govern part 
of the conquered country ; the district was in the neighbourhood of Kendal, 
and the prince being called also " Westmer," it derived from him the 
denomination " Westmereland." 6 It was peaceably ruled by this prince 
duriDg five years, the whole of which time he maintained amity with his 
protectors, the Romans, and distinguished himself by prudence, valour, 
and wisdom. Coel, his son, received a Roman education, and succeeded 
to the throne in after-years, paying the usual tribute-money to the Em- 
perors : his son Lucius was the first Christian King of the Britons, of 
whom mention will be made in the history of Gwenissa. Marius died 
A. D. 78, and was interred at Carlisle. 

A fear of the rival claims of Boadicea, the sister of his wife, had in- 
duced Marius to banish her from his territories, she being entitled to 
share the queenly honours of her sister. Her fate was as disastrous as 
that of her mother, and she had shared every vicissitude of her fortune ; 
and though the wife of Marius withdrew from the struggle, her spirit 
was yet unconquered. The subjects of Marius were hers by right of 
inheritance, and loyally attached to her service and person, as well as to 
that of her sister. Her cousin, Corbred Gald, King of Scots, had been 
her associate in infancy; and gratitude for his nurture, entitled her to 
expect his support and assistance in opposition to the Roman power. 
Boadicea accordingly assembled a numerous army composed of Britons, 
men of Brigantia and of the Isle of Man, resolving to struggle for the 
vengeance which she still considered incomplete. She put to sea with 
her forces, and landed in Galloway, the whole of which was at that time 
in possession of the Romans, and at Epiake they had fixed their head- 
quarters. 

1 Stowe, Milton. a Holinshed. 3 Scott, Holinshed. 

' Hearne's Curious Discourses. 6 Holinshed. 



BOADICEA. 71 

The precise spot where the younger Boadicea landed is not stated ; 
but she is said immediately after to have marched in the dead of night, 
unknown to the Romans, to the place where her enemies had encamped. 
Coming thus suddenly on the tents of the unprepared Romans, Boadicea 
and the Britons slew many of their most valiant leaders with their sol- 
diers, and would have entirely destroyed the whole of their forces, had not 
Petilius, the Roman general, been alarmed, and prepared great lights or 
torches of pitch and resin, which being thrown into the faces of Boadicea's 
troops, enabled him to discover and repulse them. By this means the 
Romans gained time to put themselves in order and defend their camp 
until the morning; for being apprehensive of further danger, they did not 
quit their tents to pursue the flight. When daylight arrived, they made 
an onset on the Britons and put them to the rout. 1 Next day Boadicea 
went to Epiake, which she fired, and in it the whole Roman garrison was 
destroyed. 

It was some little time afterwards that Petilius pursued and routed the 
followers of the Princess Boadicea, and made her his prisoner ; it occurred 
in the following manner : — A Roman legion 2 had been deputed to seize 
her person, and by means of using great expedition, laid an ambush, by 
which stratagem they contrived to enclose her with a great part of her 
followers. On being captured a second time, expecting to be put to a 
barbarous death, she is said to have followed the example of the Queen, 
her mother, and put a period to her existence. Other writers affirm that 
she was brought alive into the presence of Petilius, and interrogated by 
him respecting her enterprise ; upon her making a courageous answer, 
she was slain on the spot by bis soldiers : it is not, however, certain that 
Petilius himself either designed or commanded the death of Boadicea the 
Younger. 3 

Agricola, on returning to Rome after the defeat and death of Boadicea, 
was, for his brilliant successes, raised to the patrician rank by Vespasian, 
and soon after to the government of Acpaitaine. Tacitus writes thus of 
him, during his consulship : " Though I was then very young, he agreed 
to a marriage between me and his daughter, who certainly might have 
looked for a prouder connexion." The nuptial ceremony was not per- 
formed till the term of his consulship expired. Soon after Agricola was 
appointed Governor of Britain, with the additional honor of a seat in the 
pontifical college. He arrived in Britain A. D. 78, and governed during 
the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Having resolved to subju- 
gate the island, and render it of actual service to Rome, he carried his 
arms northward, defeating the Britons in nearly every encounter. 4 

1 Holinshed. 

3 A legion consisted of six thousand men ; a cohort was six hundred — a tenth 
of a legion, though "chief cohorts" sometimes contained a thousand men. — 
Rapin. 

3 The following year, a. d. 73, Petilius was succeeded by Julius Frontinus, a 
man of eminence and information, distinguished as a lawyer and soldier, and as 
much renowned for virtue as talent. 

4 In a decisive action which took place in Caledonia, in the neighbourhood of 
the Grampian Hills, the Scots, with their heroic chieftain, Galgacus, were de- 



72 BOADICEA. 

Agricola, who had previously subdued all the southern states, after the 
defeat of Galgacus, fixed a chain of garrisons between the Firths of Clyde 
and Forth, to secure the Roman province — for such Britain had at last 
become — from the invasion of the northern barbarians. 1 Another impor- 
tant and glorious act was performed by his orders. The Roman fleet 
sailed round the northern point, and made the first certain discovery that 
Britain was an island. The cluster of islands called Orcades, till then 
wholly unknown, were in this expedition added to the Roman empire; 
" Thule, which had been concealed in the gloom of winter, and a depth 
of eternal snows, was also seen by our navigators." 

Pennant believed that the Roman fleet anchored under the rock of Dumbarton 
Castle on one occasion. A fragment of an old building crowning one of the sum- 
mits, has been conjectured to be the remains of a Roman pharos, or light-house. 
Agricola's rampart, and that raised by Lollius Urbicus, terminated in this neigh- 
bourhood, and traces of the latter (raised under Antoninus Pius, and popularly 
known as Graham's Dyke) may be seen not far from Dumbarton. 

The Castle of Dumbarton, or Dun Briton, signifies " Town of the Britons." 
This ancient fortress was originally called Arcluid or Alcluid, " the Place on the 
Clyde," and was capital first of the Caledonians, and afterwards of a British or 
Welsh kingdom established in that district. It is fifteen miles from Glasgow. 
Bede, who wrote in the eighth century, says in his time it was one of the chief 
British fortresses. It was afterwards taken and held by the Saxons, and re- 
covered again from them by the Picts. At last, in 756, Edbert, the Northum- 
brian king, forced the garrison to surrender for want of provisions. 

feated, the loss on the side of the Britons being estimated at 100,000 men. [Sir 
R. Philipps, Tacitus.] The speech of the heroic pupil and nephew of Queen Boa- 
dicea on this occasion, which is given in the pages of Tacitus, strongly sets forth 
the oppression of the Romans, their ambitious artifices, and their vices, and 
affords a noble sample of the genuine outpourings of a heart inspired by the spirit 
of true liberty. To use the language of the commentator of the historian who 
records the speech of Galgacus, " the ferocity of a savage, whose bosom glowed 
with the love of liberty, gives warmth and spirit to the whole speech. Neither 
the Greek nor the Roman page has anything to compare with it. The critics 
have admired the speech of Porus to Alexander ; but excellent as it is, it shrinks 
and fades away before the Caledonian orator. Even the speech of Agricola, which 
follows immediately after it, is tame and feeble when opposed to the ardour, the 
impetuosity and the vehemence of the British chief." [Murphy's Notes on Taci- 
tus.] After the defeat and death of his sister Boadicea, Corbred, the Scottish 
King, had retired to his own dominions, where he died in peace, leaving three 
sons, all minors, Corbred, Talcan, and Brek ; of whom the first had been edu- 
cated by Queen Boadicea, and was surnamed " Gald," or "Galgacus, "the 
Fighter of Battles." [Holinshed.] Galgacus was buried at Dunstaffnage, where 
a sumptuous monument was erected to his memory, on which were engraved all 
his actions, and pillars were placed around his tomb. [Scott] 
1 Murphy's Tacitus. 



GWENISSA THE FAIR. 



Political influence of Women — A Deputation sent to Rome to fetch Gwenissa as the 
bride of Arviragus — Customs of Roman betrothals — Gwenissa's family — She is 
supposed to be illegitimate — Lines of Harding on the Marriage of Arviragus 
and Gwenissa — The flowery mead — Gloucester built in honour of the event — 
Crowns of gold — The Emperor Claudius returns to Rome — Festivities in his 
honour — Beauty of Gwenissa — The love of her Husband for her — Its transient 
duration — He breaks with Rome — Gwenissa as Winner of Peace — Vespasian 
remains in Britain — Asserted visit to Britain of Joseph of Arimathea — The 
Twelve Hides of Glaston — Change in the fortunes of Gwenissa — Arviragus 
forsakes her for Boadicea — She dies of grief in giving birth to her son Marius. 

Here is a father now 
Will truck his daughter for a foreign venture, 
Make her the stop-gap to some canker'd feud, 
Or fling her o'er, like Jonah, to the fishes, 
To appease the sea at highest. — Sir Walter Scott (Old Play). 

Was never king more highly magnifide, 

Nor dredd of Romans, than was Arvirage. — Spenser. 

There are few histories which do not present instances of the political 
influence of woman. The wife, the daughter, the mother, or the friend, 
has, in innumerable cases, become the arbitress of the destiny of an 
empire ; and frequently has it happened, that her happiness, sometimes 
even her life has been offered up as a sacrifice to her country's welfare. 
Such was the case with Gwenissa, one of the most interesting queens of 
Roman Britain. 

The circumstances of the divorce of Arviragus from Boadicea have 
been already recounted, and how he assented to the proposals of Claudius, 
to receive his daughter Gwenissa in marriage, after having made a formal 
declaration of his submission to the Roman empire. A deputation was 
therefore dispatched to Rome, to bring over to this country the royal lady 
who was to replace the repudiated Queen. 

The laurel, the badge of joy and victory, wa3 usually affixed by the 
Romans to their letters of dispatch after success against the enemy, 1 and 
was the emblem of the successful termination of the expedition under 
taken by Claudius. It was also a custom, in the Roman form of be- 
trothal, for the bridegroom to send to his bride a simple iron ring, which 
did not contain any stone, but was symbolical of the lasting bond of 
which it was the type. In Britain, as well as Gaul, at this time, these 
rings were worn on the middle finger. 2 At Rome, the number of riDgs 
on a person's hand denoted the high rank of the wearer, and many of 
these bore engravings of Harpocrates, and of the Egyptian deities. In 

1 And also placed on the spears and javelins of the soldiers. — Pliny. a Pliny. 

7 (73) 



74 GWENISSA. 

the reign of Claudius no gold seal or ring was permitted to bear the 
portrait of the Emperor, without an act of especial license ; but Vespa- 
sian, some time after issued an edict permitting rings and brooches to 
bear the imperial image. The simple iron ring was accordingly con- 
veyed to the Roman Princess by the ambassadors of the Emperor. 

The beautiful Gwenissa, on her father's side, was directly descended 
from Anthony, the Triumvir, and the gentle and virtuous Octavia, sister 
of the Emperor Augustus. Antonia the younger, daughter of Octavia, 
by her marriage with Drusus, brother of Tiberius, had two sons, Ger- 
manicus, and Claudius — the father of Gwenissa, whose paternal ancestors 
were therefore the noblest in Rome. Her maternal relationships are 
not, however, so easily determined. 

Shortly before Claudius had departed for Britain, he married Messa- 
lina, the mother of Octavia and Britannicus. By his first union with 
Plautia Urgulanilla, he had an only son. This lady, to whom he had 
been married in the reign of Tiberius, was repudiated by her husband 
with great ignominy, being convicted of infidelity, and other crimes. 
Claudia, the innocent offspring of her guilt, was condemned, at the age 
of five months, to be exposed at her mother's door. Subsequently to 
this, Claudius took JElia Petina, a lady of high birth for his wife, her 
father being of consular dignity. After bearing a daughter to the Em- 
peror, named Antonia, JElia Petina was divorced, but on very slight 
grounds. Now, if Gwenissa was the legitimate daughter of Claudius, 
she must have been the offspring of his first or second marriage ; yet is 
her name unnoticed by Suetonius, who enumerates, in exact succession, 
the several wives of Claudius, and mentions not only Antonia and Oc- 
tavia, but even the illegitimate Claudia. 1 It appears more likely that 
Gwenissa was the daughter of iElia Petina, than that Claudius should 
have offered to Arviragus a lady — only his daughter by adoption — in 
order to procure such a peace as might enable him to appear in Rome 
without disgrace ; which is the opinion some commentators on this sub- 
ject have adopted. 2 

On the site of the modern Hospice de l'Antiquaille, at Lyons, for- 
merly stood the Roman palace of Claudius, who was a native of that 
city. There, at some period, the Emperor and his family had resided ; 
but at the time of which we are writing, Messalina held her court in 
Rome. To Gwenissa, who was residing there under the care, it may be 
presumed, of a dangerous and too celebrated step-mother, the imperial 
embassy was addressed. The emissaries of Claudius departed from Bri- 
tain in the autumn, and returned in the following spring, bringing over 
the young princess in safety. 3 The quaint lines of Harding thus record 
the arrival of the Roman bride : — 

" Thene Claudius sente for dame Gennyce, 
His doughter fair, full womanly to see ; 
She came in haste, as then it might suffyce, 

1 Grafton calls Gwenissa illegitimate. 

a Rev. P. Roberts' Notes on British History. 

8 Geoff, of Monmouth, Brut y Tysilio. 



GWENISSA. 75 

To come oute from so farre lande and countrie, 
And in a mede with floures of greate beauts, 
Wedded they were ; 'where Claudius then made 
A cytee fayre, Cayre Glowe' to name it had." 

Grweuissa was welcomed with great honours on her arrival, and her 
reception from her aged father was affectionate in the extreme. The 
nuptial rite was afterwards performed with much solemnity, 2 as the poet 
relates — ■ 

"In a mede with floures of great beauts," 

in presence of the whole court of both the British King and Roman 
Emperor, their generals and the soldiery. So great a concourse must 
have required a much larger space than the customary dwellings of the 
Britons, and not inappropriately the royal espousals were celebrated 
under the broad expanse of the blue sky, with the enamelled carpet of 
green turf, bespangled with the first flowers and fairest promises of 
spring, spread out beneath the feet of the young and lovely bride. 

The pageant at this inauspicious marriage was imposing, and the mind 
may easily picture the divers characters there assembled : the aged Em- 
peror, his young daughter, the haughty Arviragus, who had made even 
his new father-in-law tremble by his power and bravery, and whose feel- 
ings must have been divided between exultation and remorse ; the states- 
men, the generals, and legions, contrasting with the rough and uncivilized 
forms and garb of the native Britons. 

Like many other royal nuptials, the semblance of joy supplied the 
place of its reality. But to the young bride all seemed fair, and she ap- 
pears to have been quite content with her lot. At her suggestion, Arvira- 
gus proposed to his father-in-law the erection of a new city on the scene 
of their espousals, commemorative of the occasion. Claudius willingly 
assented, and in person laid the foundation of a city to which he gave his 
own name, calling it Claudio-cester, now Gloucester. It contained a 
temple to the Emperor in which, if Tacitus is to be depended on, he re- 
ceived the honors of a deity. The Romans ever worshipped their rulers, 
in the empire, with extravagance, and the affability and generosity Clau- 
dius testified towards the Britons, in which perhaps he was desirous of 
securing their future goodwill for his daughter, having made a very 
favorable impression, the Britons perhaps followed their example in this 
respect without disinclination. 

The building of the Roman city proceeded with alacrity, and as soon 
as it was completed, a Roman military establishment was placed there, 
by consent of the Britons; in this arrangement Claudius testified not only 
his desire to secure his conquests, but to afford a security for the future 
safety of his daughter. An army of regular legions, and a large body of 
auxiliaries, had accompanied Claudius into Britain, from which due ar- 

1 William of Malmesbury ascribes the building of the city of Gloucester to 
Claudius, the father of Gloui, who, he says, was his son "by a British girl 
named Gewissa." 

2 Lewis, Harding, Tanner. 



76 GWENISSA. 

rangcments were made by selecting the persons most fit to colonize the 
new Roman station. 1 

As if to leave nothing incomplete, the marriage of Arviragus and 
Gwenissa was a second time celebrated at Lud's Town, the capital of the 
Trinobantes, where it was followed by many regal festivities, and the 
crown was formally placed on the head of the British King and his Ro- 
man bride. The crowns of our ancient British sovereigns were mostly 
made of pure gold, though it appears from some ancient coins, that Cym- 
beline also wore a fillet of pearls. 2 They were worn on nearly all state 
occasions, whether in battle, in processions for religious festivities, or on 
the occasion of meeting in council, not only by the Kings, but the Queens 
also. We are expressly informed of an untoward accident which occurred 
to the Queen of Cathir the Great, whose golden crown was stolen from 
her at a grand convention, held at Tara, A. D. 141. 3 Some of these 
golden crowns were afterwards displayed by Claudius on his triumphal 
entry into Rome, among other spoils taken from the Britons ; they were 
of beaten gold, and one — a present from Spain to the Emperor — weighed 
seven pounds, while another, he had received from that part of Gaul 
called Comata, weighed as much as nine pounds. 4 A British naval 
crown of gold was, moreover, placed by Claudius close by the civic crown, 
over the gate of the Imperial Palace of Rome, in token of his victory 
over the British sea, when he crossed it. 5 

The period of Claudius's visit to Britain is by some said to have been 
extended to two years, while others say a few months only. As soon as 
peace was established, and Arviragus settled in the government, as a 
tributary of Rome, the Emperor bade a final adieu to his son and daugh- 
ter, and returned to Rome, being everywhere received with the honors 
of a conquering hero ; a triumphal arch was erected at Boulogne, com- 
memorative of his victories over the Britons. He entered Rome in 
triumph, attended by his captives of war; the Empress Messalina follow- 
ing him at a distance as he proceeded through the city, in a chariot mag- 
nificently adorned. On arriving at the capital, Claudius mounted the 
steps on his knees, supported on each side by his two sons-in-law, Silanus 
and Pompey. 6 The surname of Britannicus was awarded to the Emperor 

1 " About the middle of February, 1818, some men in the employment of Sir 
W. Hicks, Baronet, while digging up the roots of an old ash-tree, which they 
were employed to fell, at Cooper's Hill, about four miles from Gloucester, came 
to a large stone that excited their curiosity. On removing it, they discovered a 
flight of steps leading to an apartment, in the centre of which was a cistern about 
a yard square ; in clearing the room, the skulls of a buffalo and a bullock, with 
horns complete, and the remains of a fireplace with a quantity of wood-ashes, 
were likewise found. A fortnight afterwards, four more apartments were dis- 
covered ; in one of which is a very curious tessellated pavement (the tessera are 
cubes of about half-an-inch), also the remains of several urns and figured tiles 
of Roman pottery. The walls of one of the apartments, and also the passages, 
are painted in fresco, with alternate stripes of purple, yellow, and scarlet, all of 
which are beautifully shaded and curiously ornamented with scrolls and a bor- 
der. These interesting remains of antiquity have probably existed for upwards 
of seventeen centuries." — Journal of Science and the Arts, 1818, No. IX, p. 144. 

"Selden. 3 0' Flaherty. 4 Pliny. 6 Echard. 6 Ibid. 



GWENISSA. 77 

for his exploits; and he, on his part, directed it should be borne by his 
son by Messalina." Presents of triumphal ornaments and chains of gold 
were adjudged to the several officers who had accompanied the expedition, 
as we find on record by inscriptions yet extant, 2 the senate moreover de- 
creed that annual games should be established in honor of this event ; 
and for some time after the return of Claudius, Rome was filled with 
every kind of festivity, dramatic representation, horse-races, bear-combats, 
pyrrhic dances, and gladiators. 3 Such were the rejoicings in commemo- 
ration of the peaceful conquest of Britain by Claudius, through the agency 
of his daughter's charms. 4 

That the personal attractions of the daughter of Claudius were of no 
mean stamp, is evident from her having been surnamed " the Fair." 
This Queen is only known to us by the name of Gwenissa, and not by tho 
one she had borne in former years in the land of her birth. This is re- 
markable, but it was a custom with the Romans, and often with tho 
Britons, to change the names of foreigners into their own peculiar dialect; 
and probably the fair stranger received hers from the Britons on account 
of her personal beauty, the word Gwen literally signifying, in the dialect 
of the island, 5 a " lovely" or " fair" woman : the Roman Venusia, or 
Venus, might have been associated, and the British Gwenissa, thus 
formed, which, if written in Saxon, is sometimes Winifred (the g, v, and 
w being often interchanged) — a name used by the Britons to designate 
" Fair Countenance," and by the Saxons a " Winner or Procurer of 
Peace." 6 

After the first splendours of her marriage were passed, and her father 
had departed, Gwenissa the Fair might, perhaps, have heaved more than 
one sigh for the luxurious scenes of her youth. Imperious destiny, how- 
ever, had fixed in Britain her future home, and so great an ascendency 
had the young Queen obtained over the mind of the fascinated Arviragus, 
that he seemed to value her as his chief good, while, by the gentle sway 
of beauty and goodness, she obtained from all those who surrounded his 
person, unqualified admiration. 7 The passion, however, which her beauty 
had illumined, was of transient duration. After a time, the " late re- 
morse" of Arviragus awoke, to remind him that for her and her father's 
interest he had been compelled to divorce his earlier-chosen, and once not 
less-beloved Boadicea, and that the mother of his children was suffering 
for her sake. Perhaps Arviragus, who had steeled himself against the 
pangs of conscience for a time, became their prey when he was able to 
perceive the true state of his circumstances, and that his apparently splen- 
did position was simply a condition of slavery. Impatient at his bondage, 
he at length resolved to assume, in his own person, the grandeur and con- 
sequence of a sovereign, and to assert his power over both the Romans 
and British people, whom he had been appointed by Claudius to rule 
merely as his deputy. Haughty, arrogant, and overbearing, his conduct 
displeased the civilized Romans so much, that not choosing to submit to 



1 Echard. 


a Pliny. 


*S. Turner. 


4 Univ. Hist., S. Turner. 


6 Josephus. 


6 Butler's Lives. 


7 Geoff, of Monmouth. 






7* 







78 OWENISSA. 

the ostentatious display of wealth and power in a barbarian, they resented 
his attempt. Arviragus took this as a pretext for breaking off his faith 
with his allies, the countrymen and friends of his Queen. Information 
was forwarded to Claudius that Arviragus had declared his independence, 
on which the Emperor despatched Vespasian to reduce him to obedieuce. 
The struggle was again renewed, and the Roman general laid siege to 
Exeter. Arviragus marched to its relief, and a battle took place, in 
which much loss was sustained on both sides. At this critical juncture, 
the character of Gwenissa shines forth in a very pleasing light. She 
had been much afflicted by the hostilities which had arisen between her 
father and her husband, and undertook, in person, the difficult task of 
arranging an accommodation between the hostile parties. The day after 
the battle, Gwenissa, in her character of the " Winner of Peace," had an 
interview first with one party, and then with the other, and through the 
influence of her beauty and solicitations, succeeded in reconciling them 
to each other. The result of her successful mediation was, that the Ro- 
mans and Britons united their rival forces, and proceeded in harmony to 
London in each other's company, and afterwards Arviragus paid the 
tribute-money to Vespasian, as formerly agreed upon with the Emperor. 1 

The especial request of Queen Gwenissa detained Vespasian in Britain, 
during the following winter. 2 The unsettled state of the country made 
her consider the presence of this distinguished leader in some measure 
necessary to her own safety, and the late defection of her husband might 
have raised some suspicion of his fidelity to herself in her mind. This, 
the prolonged stay of Vespasian was calculated to dispel, and welcome, 
no doubt, must the society of this brave and excellent man have been at 
the court of Roman Britain. The future Emperor of Rome had fought 
no less than thirty battles under Claudius and Plautius, had subdued two 
mighty nations, and twenty towns, with the Isle of Wight, then called 
Vectisj for his military exploits he was rewarded with triumphal orna- 
ments, the sacerdotal dignity, and consulship; nor was the renown 
of the young Titus, his son, who served under him in Britain, much in- 
ferior to his own, as numberless inscriptions in Germany, and in this 
country, are yet remaining to attest. 3 While these distinguished guests 
were staying in Britain, the court resided at Lud's Town. It was about 
this date that Arviragus probably commenced the Castle of Windsor for 
his royal abode, though it is by some ascribed to a later period. 4 

While Vespasian yet tarried at the court of Arviragus and Gwenissa, 
an event happened which William of Malmesbury records as a remarkable 
piece of ecclesiastical antiquity. He states, that when St. Philip the 
Apostle, after the death of our blessed Lord, was in Gaul, promulgating 
the doctrines of Christianity, he received information that all those horrid 
superstitions which he had observed in the inhabitants of that country, 
and had vainly endeavoured, with the utmost labour and difficulty, to 
overcome, originated from a little island at no great distance from the 
continent, named Britain. Thither he immediately resolved to extend 

1 Biog. Brit. Holinshed. 2 Harding's Chronicle. 

8 Echard. 4 Holinshed. 



GWENISSA. 79 

the influence of his precepts, and despatched twelve of his companions 
and followers, appointing Joseph of Ariinathea, who, not long before, had 
taken his Saviour from the cross, to superintend the sacred embassy. 1 On 
their arrival, Vespasian interested himself very warmly in their behalf 
with both the King and Queen, to whom he related a miracle concerning 
St. Joseph : — 

Vespasyan praied the kyng, 
The quene also, to be to hym good lorde 
And good ladye, which they graunted in all thing. 
* # # # 

All this he told the king and eke the quene, 
And prayde them his supporters to bene. 2 

The royal protection was granted to the strangers, at the request of the 
Roman general, and they were hospitably entertained by Arviragus, 3 who, 
to compensate them for their hard and toilsome journey, bestowed on 
them, for a place of habitation, a small island, which then lay waste and 
untilled, surrounded by bogs and morasses. To each of the twelve fol- 
lowers of St. Joseph, he appointed there a certain portion of land called 
a hide, sufficient for one family to live upon, and composing altogether 
a territory to this day, denominated "The Twelve Hides of Grlaston." 4 

This account of the first introduction of Christianity into Britain, 
singular and romantic as it may seem, is not undeserving of attention, 
as it is well known that St. Paul preached to the utmost bounds of the 
west ; and we have excellent authority for believing that some of the 

1 Norman authorities have assigned to Joseph the credit of being an apostle to 
Britain, and they are supported by the approving opinion of Cardinal Bona and 
Geoffrey of Monmouth. His pretensions have been defended by Theophilus Evans 
in his Drych y prif Oesoed, and the learned Charles Edwards in his Hanes y 
Ffydd. Leland tells us, that he met with the fragment of Melkinus in the 
library of Glastonbury; by which he concluded, that Melkinus had written some- 
thing of the histoi-y of Britain, and particularly something concerning the an- 
tiquity of Glastonbury, and Joseph of Arimathea. But this story, says Leland, 
" he sets on foot without any certain author," which makes this learned antiquary 
dissent from him. And elsewhere, when speaking of the Glastonbury tradition, 
he observes, " that twelve men are said to have come hither under the conduct of 
one Joseph ; but not Joseph of Arimathea." Bishop Stillingfleet, in his Origines 
Britannicffi (ch. i,), has ably examined all the circumstances connected with this 
tradition, and has satisfactorily proved the improbability of the mission of Joseph 
of Arimathea to this country. No mention, too, is made of it by Gildas, Bede, 
Asserius, Marianus Scotus, or any of the earliest writers. — Chronicles of the An- 
cient British Church, anterior to the Saxon Era, p. 16. 

2 Harding. 

3 It is said that Arviragus was converted by St. Joseph, and received the bap- 
tismal rite. [Neunius.] St. Joseph also gave him a shield, white as silver, on 
which was figured a cross — 

AVhich shelde, by Joseph exhortacion, 
He bore on him in feldes of werre alwaye, 
And in his baners and cote armour gaye. 

Harding's Chronicle. 

These arms were used throughout Britain, that each man might know his natioD 
by them. 

4 Collinson's Somersetshire ; Biog. Brit. 



80 GWENISSA. 

Apostles actually preached to the Britons. Theodoret, 1 who asserts this, 
declares the Britons were converts to St. Paul ; and states, that Aristo- 
bulus, a bishop ordained by St. Paul, and sent to Britain as a missionary, 
was martyred A. D. 56. There is, indeed, every reason to believe, that 
the Christian faith was early promulgated in Britain, 2 and many converts 
made prior to the defeat of Queen Boadicea. If Vespasian was at all 
instrumental in establishing it here, it is singular enough, as his son Titus 
was the destroyer of Jerusalem, and disperser of the Jews throughout 
the world. 

Pomponia Grsecina, wife of Plautius, a lady of the court of Gwenissa 
the Fair, is thought to have been a believer in the Christian faith. This 
Roman matron was accused of ha.ving embraced a strange and foreign 
superstition, for which crime she was condemned to be tried by her hus- 
band. According to the custom of the times, Plautius convened her 
whole family and relations for this purpose, and in their presence tried 
her for her life and fame ; after which he pronounced her innocent of 
anything immoral. 3 

1 A bishop of the fifth century. 

2 Gildas fixes the event in the eighth year of Nero's reign. 

3 Pomponia Grsecina, returning to Rome after the death of her husband, per- 
haps in company with the imprisoned Caractacus and his family, became ac- 
quainted with Claudia Rufina, [Gladys Ruffyth, in the British dialect,] daughter 
of that British prince, and with her is named in the Epistles of St. Paul, as being 
" saints of the household of Csesar." She ever after her trial led a retired life ; 
but though this has caused many writers to esteem her of the Christian faith, it 
did not deter Ovid from addressing to her the fourth Book of his Metamorphoses. 
Her friend Claudia, with her husband and family, mingled in the most brilliant 
circles of Rome, and are numbered among the most eminent early Christians. 
[Saxon Martyrology; Archbishop Usher.] They were friends of the poet Mar- 
tial, who addressed an Epigram to Aulus Rufus Pudens, on the happy occasion 
of his marriage to Claudia ; and another to the young lady herself, on the same 
subject, as well as some complimentary verses on her beauty, from which the fol- 
lowing is an extract : — 

"From painted Britons how was Claudia born! 
The fair barbarian how do arts adorn ! 
When Roman charms a Grecian soul commend, 
Athens and Rome may for the dame contend." 
[Liber IV., Epigram 13.] A book of Epigrams and an elegy on the death of her 
husband are said to have emanated from the genius of this royal lady, [Baleus ; 
Female Worthies,] who, when her father Caractacus obtained leave to return to 
Britain, remained behind at the court of Rome, where she was afterwards united 
to A. 11. Pudens, who was a Roman knight and of senatorial rank, as well as a 
philosopher of the Bononian sect. Linus, who had been honoured by an Epigram 
of Martial being addressed to him, is named with Pudens and Claudia, by St. Paul 
in the second Epistle to Timothy. The apostle visited Rome a.d, 62, eleven 
years after Claudia went thither with her father. It is even asserted that 
Timothy, the disciple of Paul, was a son of Claudia by Pudens, [Rowland's Mona 
Antiqua,] and that it was owing to the impression made by his preaching that, 
a. d. 156, [Geof. of M. gives the date of Lucius' death as 156. Nennius gives 167 
as the date of his conversion; Bede 156,] King Lucius addressed a letter to Eleu- 
therius, then Pope of Rome, requesting further instructions on the Christian 
faith. [Rowlands.] In consequence of this application, SS. Fagan and Dervan 
were sent over to Britain, who, on their arrival, baptized the King and Queen, 



GWENISSA. 81 

Gwenissa the Fair was perhaps not only a patroness of the disciples and 
missionaries of the new faith, but the mild doctrines they promulgated 
might have influenced her many acts of generosity and kindness. But 
the crisis of her destiny, delayed for a time, was at hand. Arviragus, who 
had increased his power by timely submission until he had become a 
terror to the neighbouring kings, at last, elevated with pride, again resolved 
on asserting his power, and, joining a confederacy of chieftains who had 
assembled at Shrewsbury, amongst whom was Caractacus,' was, as has 
been related, then reconciled to Boadicea. 

The news of the final desertion by Arviragus of his fealty and his love, 
so deeply affected the unfortunate Gwenissa, whose unmerited affection 
was thus spurned, that, overcome by the extremity of her grief, the hour 
of maternal anguish was prematurely brought on, and, in the midst of her 
sufferings, she expired. 2 

The son to whom Gwenissa gave birth, survived, and received the 
name of Marius, to which was afterwards added that of " Westmer." 
With the death of Gwenissa ceases all information regarding the earlier 
British Queens, no record having been preserved of any until we come to 
those who were adventitiously so. In resuming the line we have to intro- 
duce a Roman-born subject. 

with their family ; whose example was imitated afterwards by their subjects, the 
inhabitants of Essex, Sussex, and Surrey; [Weever; Stillingfleet ;] and thus the 
doctrines of Jesus became established in the island. Many churches were built 
by Lucius, particularly those of Winchester and Westminster, which last occupied 
the spot on which now stands the venerable Abbey of St. Peter. In the subse- 
quent persecution under Dioclesian, it was pulled down, and a temple to Apollo 
erected from its ruins. 

Lucius, the first Christian monarch of Europe, was called "Lever Maur," or 
" the Great Light;" because he assumed for his badge "the Star of Jacob," 
which may be seen upon his coins ; two of which bear the impression of the 
Cross, with the royal initials, L. U. C. 

The glorious example of Lucius and his queen was followed in Scotland, A. D. 
185, when Donald, brother of Ethodius, became king. This prince sent ambas- 
sadors to the reigning pontiff, St. Victorinus, requesting him to send over to him 
some religious men to instruct himself and his subjects in the Christian faith. 
On their arrival the king, queen, and many of the nobility and people, embraced 
the faith with great zeal, though idolatry was not extirpated from the country 
for many years after. [Scott's Hist, of Scotland.] 

1 Geoffrey of Monmouth, Holinshed. 2 Caxton's Chronicle. 



JULIA "DOMINA." 

Julia born in Phoenicia — Julia Maesa, her sister — Beauty and talents of Julia 
Domina — Her abstruse learning — Her ambitious views — Her arrival at the 
Imperial City — She is noticed by the Empress — Her success — Her admirers — 
Severus — The Augury — The Marriage of Julia — Children of Severus — Cara- 
calla and Geta — Eastern Expedition of Severus — Julia becomes Empress — 
They go to Britain — Advance to Caledonia — Difficulties and Trials on the 
Campaign — Fulgent lays siege to York — Cruelty of Severus — Superstition 
of the Emperor — The Court at York — Luxury and pomp — The Emperor's 
death — Enmity of the Antonines — Return to Rome — Fratricide — Grief of 
Julia — Severity of Caracalla — Supposed marriage to her Step-son — His 
JMurder — Julia dies — Her Sister's children — Her character as regards 
Britain. 

This celebrated woman was not descended from an illustrious family, 
her father Bassus being merely a priest of the sun at Emessa, a town of 
Phoenicia ; and Julia Soaemias, her mother, had another daughter also, 
who is known in history as Julia Maesa, and who became equally distin- 
guished with her sister. 

The eldest daughter, whose fate it was to become elevated to the throne 
of Severus, the Roman Emperor, was by nature gifted with the most 
rare beauty, so that she charmed all those who approached her ; which 
impression was rendered permanent by the superior talents which accom- 
panied her personal endowments. The mind of Julia, however, was little 
in accordance with her personal qualities, for malice and dissimulation 
were its characteristics. The study of philosophy, geometry, and the 
various sciences, from an early age, was her pursuit, though not commonly 
the taste of her sex ; and this afterwards rendered her capable of en- 
joying the society of learned men, for she could converse freely with 
them on any subject; and not only did she think correctly, but her 
address was easy and graceful, and her manner of writing elegant ; so 
that on her elevation she proved herself competent to manage the most 
delicate affairs of the cabinet. 

Julia, to all the shining qualities calculated to give her influence, added 
ambition. She was inspired with the presentiment, that hers would be 
a high and brilliant destiny; and her acquaintance with judicial astrology 
had led to a knowledge of the prediction that her husband "should one 
day become Emperor !" The path of glory seemed to open before her : 
full of hope and expectation, she quitted the obscure town to which she 
owed her birth, for Rome, the theatre of the world, which she judged a 
worthy sphere for the display of her charms and her genius. Julia Do- 
mina was accompanied by her sister, no less eminently endowed in mind 
and person than herself. 

Scarcely was she arrived at the Imperial City, when she attracted the 
notice and was taken into the protection of the Empress Anna Faustina. 

(82) 



JULIA. S3 

In a city so devoted to magnificence and display, the lovely sisters could 
scarcely have failed to be admired. Julia, who was truly Syrian in her 
character, delighted in sports, shows, and every sort of diversion that 
could gratify the senses. The high spirits in which she appeared at 
these festivals, set forth her beauty to the most dazzling advantage, and 
always ensured some fresh conquests. A crowd of lovers was soon at 
her feet, and among the number, Septimius Severus, then only a Roman 
tribune. At the time this bright star of foreign lustre appeared in the 
horizon, with her combination of attractions, Severus, who had lost his 
first wife, Martia, was revolving in his mind a second marriage. He, 
like Julia, had certain presages of his future greatness ; some augurs, 
whom he had consulted respecting a wife who would be likely to forward 
his ambitious views, being acquainted with the prediction concerning 
Julia, informed him of it, and gravely recommended the lovely Syrian as 
a suitable match. The superstitious Severus readily conceived they 
were destined for each other, 1 while her ambition, and the assurance that 
her husband should arrive at empire, had more influence on his heart 
than even her beauty. Already the favorite of the Emperor, he had 
great interest at court, and made so good an appearance, that Julia did 
not doubt of his being a man whose preferment was certain. She readily 
accepted his offer, and thus the first grand step towards the accomplish- 
ment of the prophecy was fulfilled. The nuptial ceremony was solem- 
nized in the Temple of Venus, near the Imperial Palace ; the Empress 
Faustina not only honouring the espousals with her presence, but resign- 
ing her own apartment on the occasion for the use of the newly mar- 
ried pair. 

Severus was by birth an African, 2 and had obtained from the Emperor 
Marcus Aurelius the offices of quaestor, tribune of the people, and praetor ; 
after which he was proconsul of Africa. 3 

At the time of Julia's marriage, he was the father of three children 
by his first wife, one of whom was the afterwards unworthily celebrated 
Caracalla. This prince was born at Lyons, where his father had formerly 
been stationed as Governor of Gaul, during the war of the usurpers. 
His mother, Martia, 4 was a native of Britain, 5 and at the time of her 
marriage, Severus was a tribune under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. As 
Caracalla bore the name of Bassianus, many have esteemed him the sou 
of Julia, 6 but that name, perhaps, was given him as a compliment to her, 
as, soon after Severus quitted Gaul, and while Bassianus was yet a child, 
Martia died, and Severus entered into his second marriage : the daughters 
of the first union were both called Septimia, from Severus himself, who 

1 Spartian. 2 Born a. d. 146, at Leptis or Lepris. — Crevier. 

3 Spartian. l Martia or Mary ; Owen's Pedigrees. 

5 Crevier; Lewis's Hist, of Brit. ; Spartian; Owen's Pedigrees; Lives of the 
Empresses. 

6 Wootton, in the History of Rome, says both Bassianus and Geta were children 
of Julia, the second wife of Severus, whom he married after the death of Martia, 
his first consort; but this does not seem to be the case, from a careful examina- 
tion of the many points in the history of these princes. 



84 JULIA. 

derived it from his father, Septirnius Geta. 1 Two years after her mar- 
riage, Julia gave birth to a son, at Home, 2 named Geta, from his grand- 
father. The fact of the two brothers being the offspring cf different 
mothers, 3 accounts for many minute points in their after-history. The 
eldest-born was by the woman who derived her origin from a British 
family, whose history has not, however, reached us, on account of the 
Roman contempt for a subdued nation ; the younger enjoyed from the 
cradle, every honor and privilege of a Roman citizen by birth and educa- 
tion. Yet was Severus particularly partial to the children of Martia, 
and after his marriage with Julia, is said to have even erected statues to 
the memory of his former wife, at the request of his son Bassianus, who 
could not be pacified in any other way, under the contempt shown for 
his mother, whose alliance was considered ignoble. 4 This occasioned a 
preference among the Romans for the son of Julia, which, added to the 
misfortune of his losing his mother, Martia, at so tender an age, and 
being committed to the care of a jealous stepmother, were unfavourable 
circumstances, in themselves sufficient to account for the many bad fea- 
tures displayed in the character of Bassianus " Caracalla " 3 during the 
latter years of his life. In childhood especially tender-hearted, the ear- 
nest entreaty of this young Gaul had obtained from his father, on the 
reduction of Byzantium, a mitigation of the punishment to which that 
city and Antioch had been condemned, 6 which tender emotions of affec- 
tion and sympathy were entirely extinguished before the young prince 
had arrived at the imperial power. 

The causes which led to the expedition of Severus into the East, and 
taking of the cities of Byzantium and Antioch, being immediately con- 
nected with his elevation to the throne of the Caesars, require to be 
noticed here. At the time when Julian received the imperial power, the 
vast armies of Rome were commanded by three several leaders, each 
possessed of wisdom and experience, yet differing in character, and each 
alike in the one point of anxiety to succeed to the throne of Pertinax : 
they had an equality of force, three legions being at the disposal of each ; 
but the army generally decided, in such cases as theirs, the fortune of 
the day; and of the three competitors for power — Pescennius Niger in 
Syria, Clodius Albinus in Britain, and Septimius Severus in Illyricum, 

1 Crevier. 2 Lives of Empresses. s Echard. 

4 Lewis ; Lives of the Empresses. 

5 Both before and after his father's death, Bassianus appeared often in the 
dress peculiar to the Gauls, from which he derived the name by which he is 
chiefly known in history — Caracalla. The cassock of this name, which Caracalla 
rendered fashionable in Rome, was originally Gaulish ; it was a long garment 
reaching down to the ancles, [Echard,] and resembled the habit of a modern 
monk, being sometimes worn with, and sometimes without, a hood or cowl. [Au- 
relius Victor Tenacius de Re Vestiaria Rom., Hoffman. Lexic. Univ.] By some 
the name of Caracalla, given on this account, is regarded as a reproach thrown 
on the prince's origin. The love of dress of Caracalla is seen also by his appear- 
ing in a dress peculiar to the Alemanni whom he had conquered, and wearing . 
false hair of the same colour as theirs. [Dio Aurelius Victor.] 

6 Crevier. 



JULIA. 85 

the latter was destined to succeed on this occasion. The empire had 
long been the goal of his ambition, and from the time of his marriage till 
his elevation to power, Severus is said to have been always guided by the 
counsels of Julia, to which he was principally indebted for that high 
reputation with the soldiery which, in the end, induced them to proclaim 
hiiu Emperor. He lost no time in undertaking an expedition into the 
east against Niger, whom he succeeded in making his prisoner. Cruelty 
was a prominent feature in the actions of Severus throughout his career 
of triumphs ; he put his enemy to death, and the same fate was after- 
wards shared by his wife and children : most of the senators, his adhe- 
rents, lost their lives, and the remainder were banished. Those cities 
which befriended Niger, were also severely punished ; of which number 
were Byzantium and Antioch, in whose behalf Caracalla interfered; 
while the Empress, who on this, as on every other occasion, had accom- 
panied her husband, interposed in favour of her native city, Emessa, and 
obtained its pardon from the Emperor. 

It would cause too long a digression to relate all the circumstances of 
the arrival of Severus at imperial power. Suffice it to record, that his 
entrance into Rome was one of the most triumphant of those times of 
pomp and exhibition. 

The vanity and pride of Julia were fully satisfied with the honours 
heaped on both her husband and herself. Crowns of flowers and of 
laurel were showered upon them as they passed by the shouting citizens : 
the senators, in state attire, met them at the gates with greeting ; fires, 
made of perfumed wood, were lighted in every street : on Julia was con- 
ferred the title of August, given always to the wives of their Emperors, 1 
besides those of Mother of the Republic and of the Armies, and several 
other complimentary titles, expressly invented for this occasion. She. 
thus saw fulfilled to the letter the prediction of her future grandeur, on 
which she had relied. Her pride naturally rose with her prosperity ; 
she insisted on the full privileges of her newly acquired dignity, and in- 
toxicated with her position, treated the greatest persons in the empire with 
haughtiness and contempt. 

Severus meantime was anxious to secure the fortunes of his children 
by Martia. He accordingly gave one daughter to Aetius, whom he 
raised to the consular rank, and bestowed the other on Probus, who 
already was a consul, and who was offered, on this occasion, the govern- 
ment of the city of Rome, which, however, he was politic enough to re- 
fuse, 2 and hoping to ingratiate himself with the new Emperor, gave as 
his reason, that the honour of being his son-in-law was, in his opinion, 
infinitely greater than that employment. 

Severus, desirous to determine who should be his heir, was so anxious, 
that the subject invaded his rest, and in a dream he learnt that his suc- 
cessor was to be named Antoninus. Regarding this as an infallible pre- 
diction, he brought his favorite son, Bassianus, into the camp, and gave 
him the name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, in presence of all the 
legions. 3 This son actually did reign after him, as history attests ; 4 and 

1 Selden's Titles of Honour. 

8 Lives of the Empresses. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 



86 JULIA. 

it is a circumstance which Spartian remarks as very singular, that Severus 
should have omitted, when he wrote the history of his own life, any men- 
tion of his first wife, this prince's mother, to whose memory the statues 
were raised at Caracalla's request. 

In order to withdraw his sons, and still more, perhaps, his wife, from 
the pleasures of Rome, to which she was attached beyond all bounds, 
Severus availed himself of the excuse afforded by an irruption from 
North Britain into the territories in the south of the island which were 
under the Roman empire, to undertake an expedition to Britain. 1 He 
was accompanied by Julia, his two sons, and two Roman legions. 2 On 
his arrival, he encountered the rebel Britons in an engagement, when 
some were reduced to submission, and the rest fled into Caledonia, whither 
they were pursued by the warlike Emperor. 3 

At the time Severus undertook this expedition, he was advanced in 
years, and so broken with infirmities, that he had to be carried in a litter ; 
yet, impelled by his indomitable spirit, he proceeded through woods and 
morasses to the farthest parts of Caledonia. He surmounted all the 
fatigues of the march, and many fierce encounters which took place be- 
tween the Roman and Pictish forces. Julia was with her husband 
throughout the whole of this trying campaign. 

One of the foes of Severus in Britain was Fulgent, a relative of 
Martia, mother of Caracalla. In this campaign with the Scots he fought 
against the Romans with great bravery, having procured some Picts to 
assist him in the war, and many inhabitants of the islands adjacent to 
Britain, as well as the Britons themselves. It is said that he laid siege 
to York, which was relieved by Severus marching to its aid, and in the 
contest which followed, Fulgent received a mortal wound. That Severus 
fell has also been asserted, but this is untrue, as he was prevented by age 
and infirmities from personally engaging in the contest. 

During this warfare the armour of the northern Britons and Caledo- 
nians consisted of a small shield and a spear ; they wore also a sword de- 
pending from their naked bodies, which were painted over with the 
figures of animals. 4 The cruelty of Severus was in this campaign as con- 
spicuous as ever : a speech of his is on record, of which the following 
quaint lines are a translation : 5 he commands an indiscriminate slaughter 
of his enemies : 

" Let none escape your bloody rage — 
With terror let all die ; 
Spare not the mother, nor the babe 
Which in her womb doth lie." 

From this we discover that women mingled with the strife, even women 
about to become mothers, and who were fiercely sentenced to be slaught- 
ered by the unfeeling Emperor. 6 

1 Warrington. 2 Geoff, of Monmouth. 8 Ibid. * Guthrie. 

6 It is translated from the Greek by Mr. Leigh, in his " Select and Choice Ob- 
servations of the Roman Emperors." 

6 Fifty thousand Romans perished in the expedition of Severus into Scotland, 
though no battle was fought, through ambuscades of the enemy and fatigue in 



JULIA. 87 

On entering York after his success against Fulgent and the Caledonians, 
a circumstance occurred confirmatory of the superstitious character of 
Severus. A Temple of Bellona stood at that time in Eboracum, and in 
front of it a small column, called the "martial pillar," whence a spear 
was thrown when war was declared against an enemy. 1 Severus, on en- 
tering the city, proceeded towards that spot with the intention of offering 
a sacrifice, but on his way thither was met by a Moor wearing a cypress 
garland about his head, — a circumstance considered so unlucky, that the 
Emperor ordered him to begone out of his sight : when the man, who 
was of the class of soothsayers, and, being an African, respected by Se- 
verus, who was himself of that quarter of the world, saluted him with 
these words : " Totum fuisti, totum vicisti, jam Deus esto victor," 2 and 
offered to conduct him on to the temple. This was thought by the Em- 
peror to foretell his death ; and another prognostic was added when he 
quitted the temple after the sacrifice had been offered, for some of the 
black beasts appointed to have been slain are said to have followed the 
Emperor to the palace. All the Romans, and more especially Severus, 
regarded this last as one of the worst of omens, and a warning of the 
approach of death. 3 

cutting down woods, building bridges, and drying marshy grounds. Julia must 
have witnessed much during this season. Severus is said to have observed with 
great accuracy the lengths of the days and nights of the summer and winter 
while in Caledonia, which could not have been done without a stay of at least 
six months. He pursued his course, laying waste by fire and sword, in spite of 
his gout and all difficulties, till peace was brought about by a concession of the 
disputed territory, and the Caledonians delivering up their arms. On this occa- 
sion it was that Caracalla had sought to murder his father in the sight of the 
whole Roman and British army. The Emperor, in presence of his soldiers, was 
in the act of concluding a treaty, and the Britons were presenting their arms in 
token of submission, when Caracalla, who stood behind, suddenly drew his sword, 
and would have killed his father. Severus, turning at that moment, beheld the 
sword raised to destroy him : without betraying any surprise, or uttering a single 
word, he pursued the business in hand, received the arms of the Britons, and 
signed the treaty. When he had returned to his tent, he sent for his son ; and 
Papinian, captain of the guard, and Castor, his chief chamberlain, being present, 
reproached Caracalla for his wickedness. Then offering a drawn sword to him, 
he said, " If your ambition to reign alone prompts you to imbue your hands in 
the blood of your father, execute your impious purpose rather in this place than 
in the sight of the whole world and in the presence both of our friends and ene- 
mies. If you are not yet abandoned to such a degree as to murder your father 
with your own hand, order Papinian to commit the parricide : you are emperor, 
he must obey you!" This speech neither affected Caracalla at the time, nor 
rendered his conduct more dutiful for the future. 

1 It is supposed that the site of this building was in or near the street called 
St. Saviour-gate, as in digging the foundation of some houses on the north side 
of it, many years ago, large quantities of the horns of several kinds of beasts 
were discovered, and the probability is increased when we consider its vicinity 
to the Imperial Palace. [Allen's Hist, of York.] 

5 Spartian. Leigh's Choice Observations. 

3 The structure which was called the Prastorian Palace is supposed to have 
occupied the whole space of ground extending from Christ Church, through all 
the houses and gardens on the east side of Goodramgate and St. Andrew's Gate, 
through the Bedern, to Aldwark. The royal baths in all probability occupied a 



88 JULIA. 

During the residence of Severus in Britain, with the exception of the 
period occupied in the Caledonian war, he constantly held his court at 
York. It was a military colony, governed by both military and muni- 
cipal laws. The Emperors sat at times in person in the Praetorium, in 
the chief tribunal, to give laws to the whole empire; and the rescript of 
Severus and Antonine, de rei vindicatione, is dated from this ancient 
city j 1 York or Eboracum, may therefore be regarded as a miniature pic- 
ture of Rome, and as possessing a just claim to the titles with which it 
has been dignified by Alcuin, of Britannia Orbis, Roma altera, Pallatium 
Curiae, and Praetorium Caesaris. In its form it resembled ancient Rome, 
for in a plan of the city left by Fabius, Rome is represented in the form 
of a bow, of which the Tiber was the string : and " the Ouse has not 
inaptly been called the bowstring of York." Both these rivers run 
directly through the cities which they water, and have contributed to 
their ancient splendour and ultimate consequence. 2 

The city, in the reign of Severus, was arrived at the height of its 
grandeur and consequence. " The prodigious concourse of tributary 
kings, foreign ambassadors, and other persons of distinction, who crowded 
the court of the sovereigns of the world at this period, when the Roman 
empire was in the zenith of its power, in addition to the emperor's own 
magnificence, his numerous retinue, the noblemen of Rome, or the officers 
of the army, all which would necessarily attend him, must have exalted 
Eboracum nearly to .the summit of sublunary grandeur/' 

Julia " Domina," the chosen partner of Severus, the inseparable com- 
panion of his progresses east or west, even to the extreme bounds of the 
north, held within the walls of the Praotorian Palace her own imperial 
state. With her was her sister Julia Maosa, who shared her brilliant 
fortunes, and never quitted her up to the latest period of her existence. 3 

For a space of time not less than two years, while the court was held 
in Britain, the island natives beheld before their eyes a spectacle novel 
and imposing, — grandeur and luxury, in all their varied forms of dress 
and equipage. No wonder that the consequence was a final loss of their 
own simple tastes and unaspiring habits. As early as the time of Agri- 
cola, the Roman fashions were imitated by the Britons, and especially 
their dress, proud buildings, baths, and elegant banquets. 4 A Roman 
British female is exhibited in Smith s costumes, taken from the reverse 

considerable part of this extent, [Drake ; Allen,] for the Romans were peculiarly 
partial to their hot and cold baths. 

1 Universal History. 2 Allen. 

3 At a later epoch of our history, this Roman palace became the residence of 
the Saxon and Danish kings of Northumberland, and then of the earls of the dis- 
trict, until the reign of Edward the Confessor. The palace, when in possession 
of Tosti, Earl of Northumberland, brother of Editha, Edward's queen, was plun- 
dered and burnt by the enraged populace. It fell afterwai'ds into the hands of 
the crown ; but as the English kings did not reside there, the building became 
neglected. More recently still " the Guildhall," as the palace of Severus had 
been named in more modern times, was appropriated to the Dukes of York. — 
Allen's York. 

* Milton. 



JULIA. 89 

of a coin of Carausius. She is habited in the gvm and pat's, just like the 
Welch peasantry of the present time ; except that the former, instead of 
opening before and wrapping over, appears a copy of the Roman tunic. 
All the Brito-Rornan coins and bassi-relievi agree in exhibiting the tunic 
as worn over the pais, with sleeves, as at the present day in Wales, de- 
scending only down to the elbows. 

While the Romans in Britain progressed in the vast undertakings 
assigned to them by Severus, the Emperor himself remained at York, 
suffering from severe illness, from which he never recovered. Caracalla, 
who had returned from his expedition against the Caledonians, not con- 
tent with so near a view of the imperial diadem as was presented by the 
fast-ebbing current of his parent's existence, endeavoured to hasten his 
last moments by exciting a mutiny among the Roman troops, whom he 
caused to proclaim himself Emperor. Severus, hearing of what had 
passed, caused the principal offenders to be brought into his presence, who 
prostrated themselves before him, and supplicated forgiveness. 

The nobles of Severus wondering how he could govern so vast an em- 
pire in his feeble and diseased state, he remarked that " he ruled with his 
brain, not with his feet," alluding to the gout from which he was then 
suffering. This had long been a trial to the Emperor, for on returning 
the second time from the East to Rome, he decliued the proffered honour 
of a triumph, because the gout prevented his riding in the state chariot 
used on such occasions. When in Caledonia, he was carried in a litter. 

When he felt himself dying, he caused his urn to be brought, and 
having taken it into his hand, said : "Thou shalt contain him whom the 
world could not." Some say that Julia and her son Greta were staying 
in London 1 when Severus died ; but that they were present at the last 
fatal scene, appears from the address that Severus is said to have made 
to his sons prior to his death: "Agree among yourselves; enrich the 
soldiers; contemn all others." 

This Emperor, who was indebted for his elevation to the legions, enter- 
tained a particular regard for the soldiery, and, out of gratitude, had 
conferred many benefits on them, — among which was an indulgence 
which injured the discipline of the army. The soldiers had hitherto been 
required to live in a state of celibacy, but Claudius permitted to them the 
rights and privileges which attached to the married state. 2 Severus went 
further, and gave them leave to marry. Before his time the Roman camp 
had no place of accommodation for women. Might not Severus have 
acted in this, as in many other instances, from the influence of his 
Empress, the attendant of his numerous campaigns, and partaker of his 
cares and dangers ? 

1 The Emperor's infirmities preventing his own progression through the British 
states, Julia's visit to the south was probably for the purpose of transacting busi- 
ness, and to join the court of Geta, held at London during his father's visit to Ca- 
ledonia ; for the south of Britain was left under his control, — a politic arrange- 
ment of Severus, to prevent differences between the brothers. Of Geta, who was 
an extravagant admirer of horses, we are told an equestrian statue was found 
near Bath. — Collinson. 

2 Murphy's Tacitus. See notes. 

8* 



90 JULIA. 

The Emperor plainly foresaw the contention that would arise between 
his sons after his death respecting the empire. After addressing them, 
as before related, he bade them read in Sallust the dying speech of My- 
cipsa to his children, in which they would find this expression : " By 
concord, small possessions increase; by discord, great ones are wasted." 
After this parental exhortation, he uttered the following words : " I 
received the Republic everywhere troubled; I leave it at peace even among 
the Britons ; bequeathing to my Antonines, 1 old and lame as I am, an 
empire which will prove firm, if they be good, — but weak, should they 
turn out evil." 2 

Such were the last moments of Severus, who died in the Imperial 
Palace at Eboracum, whose walls not long after were destined to witness 
the dissolution of another Roman Emperor, Constantius Chlorus, a very 
different character from its present inmate. The remains of the deceased 
Emperor were buried in a spot about two miles and a half distant from 
the city, 3 called, from the circumstance, Severs-hill, to the present day. 
Of the three singular hills, called Severus'-hills, the centre one is the 
smallest, and is about twenty-seven yards above the level of the surround- 
ing country; the others are about thirty-five yards in height. 4 

A small arch yet exists in Rome to the memory of Septimius Severus, 
Caracalla and Julia. 

Severus had been raised to the empire A. D. 195, and died A. D. 212, 
after a seventeen years' reign, aged 66. During the last two years his 
sons had shared in his sovereignty, as Antonines. He is said to have 
been inexorable to his enemies, but kind to his friends, and rough and 
untractable in his manners, though exact in his distribution of justice. 
In his time food was provided to the Roman people, even without asking, 
whenever it was needed, and the soldiers loved him for his excessive 
liberality, and for permitting them to have their wives in their quarters. 
The greatest pleasure of the Emperor was to do good to all around him, 
and Galen, the prince of physicians, who lived in his time, and attained 
the age of seventy, declares that Severus kept constantly by him a great 
store of treacle, and other expensive remedies, to relieve such as wanted 
them, by which means he saved the lives of many persons. Of this 
number was his Greek secretary, Antipater, son of Piso, to whom Galen 
dedicated his treatise on treacle, and who wrote the history of the reign 
of his imperial master, Severus. Arria, also a lady of distinction, was 
saved by this remedy ; she was much esteemed by Severus, because she 
applied herself to the study of philosophy and the reading of Plato. 
Severus 5 may be ranked among the literati of his own era, for he wrote 

1 The title accorded the two young Caesars, his sons. a Spartian. 

3 In the township of Holdgate and parish of Acomb. — Allen. 

4 Leigh, Rudulphus, Camden, and Drake. 

6 Coins of Severus and of Julia have been dug up at Aldborough in Yorkshire, 
and other parts of Britain. A valuable deposit of Roman coins was dug up near 
Morton in Yorkshire, consisting of a very large quantity of denarii in excellent 
preservation, chiefly coins of Severus, Julia, Caracalla, and Geta. They were 
contained in the remains of a brass chest, supposed to have belonged to a Roman 
legion, and to have been deposited, on some sudden alarm, in the spot which it 



JULIA. 91 

the history of his own life ; while Julia, who successfully applied herself 
to letters and philosophy, patronized every art, and was the friend of 
every man of genius; amongst other proofs of this, it was at her request 
that Philostratus undertook his life of Apollonius Tyanaeus. 

According to Gibbon, the nurse and preceptor of Caracalla were both 
Christians. Origen, also, who died in 253, says in his 6th Homily, "The 
power of our Saviour's kingdom reached as far as Britain, which seemed 
to lie in another division of the world." Yet Severus is himself said to 
have been a persecutor of the Christians. It was agreed by the two 
brothers, Caracalla and Geta, that they should return to Eome 1 with the 
Empress-Mother. They set out, bearing with them the ashes of Severus 
in a golden urn, the same which had been brought to the dying Emperor. 
On their way so many contentions arose from mutual jealousy, that it was 
feared they would destroy one another; and on one occasion Geta would 
have fallen a sacrifice to the poison prepared for him by Caracalla, but 
for the fidelity of his servants. 2 Julia, as though she had been mother 
to both, endeavoured by every possible means to reconcile them, but 
without success; their animosity increased to such a degree that they 
even ate and lodged separately, and each stood upon his guard against 
the other. On their arrival in Rome, they immediately divided the 
imperial palace between them, as they could not agree to live together. 
"No communication was allowed between their apartments, the doors and 
passages were diligently fortified, and guards posted and relieved with the 
same strictness as in a besieged place." The two Emperors, one of whom 
was but twenty-three, and the other a year younger, met only in public, 
and then in the presence of their afflicted mother. 

Every posthumous honour was awarded to the memory of Severus, and 
on the arrival of the brothers at Rome the first act of Caracalla and Geta 

had quietly occupied afterwards during a period of almost sixteen centuries.—- 
Allen's York. 

A thick coin in middle brass, of Julia, is said to have borne on the obverse a 
fine head of the Empress, with the legend, "Julia Domna Pia Felix Augusta." 
The reverse exhibited a full length figure of Venus ; the legend merely, " Felici- 
tas Publica," with the usual S. C. (meaning by order of the Senate) inscribed on 
the field. — Journal of Science. 

A considerable quantity of clay moulds, or matrices, for the coining of Roman 
money, were turned up some time since at Lingwell Yatt, near Wakefield. Several 
crucibles for melting the metal were also found at the same time, and in some 
of the moulds there were coins yet remaining. A number of clay moulds for 
casting coins were also discovered in the parish of Eddington, Somersetshire, 
having the impressions of Severus and Caracalla, with their Empresses, Julia 
and Plautilla. Some of these moulds are lodged in the Ashmolean Museum, Ox- 
ford. — Collinson. 

1 According to some authorities, Caracalla, on his father's death, proceeded di- 
rect to London, where the Empress and Geta were staying, with the hope of 
prosecuting his claims on the empire in that quarter: for it too soon became ap- 
parent that only one of the brothers could reign, and that the other must fall. 
The Romans would have preferred Geta for their Emperor, for he was, both by 
his father and mother, a Eoman; but the Britons rejected him, desiring Bas- 
sianus "Caracalla," their own countryman by the mother's side, to be advanced 
to the supreme dignity. 

a Wootton. 



92 JULIA. 

was to perform the Emperor's Apotheosis or Deification, with the usual 
ceremonies. The whole city assumed the garb of mourning. Next, an 
image was made of wax, to represent exactly the deceased Emperor. 
This was laid on a stately ivory bed, magnificently adorned with cloth of 
gold, and placed at the entrance of the palace. On the left hand were 
seated the whole body of the senators in black, on the right the ladies of 
the highest quality in plain white habits, without jewels or other orna- 
ments. This lasted for seven days, during which time the physicians 
resorted to the image as though it had been a real patient, still signifying 
that they had less and less hopes of the Emperor's life ; at which words 
the mourners always gave a groan. At last, when they had declared his 
death, the noblest and youngest of the senators carried the bed upon their 
shoulders through the Via Sacra to the Old Forum, on each side of which 
were erected two large scaffolds, one filled with young boys, and the other 
with young maidens, all children of the highest quality, who sang solemn 
and mournful hymns and songs in honour of the dead. After these were 
ended, the senators and knights again took up the bed and carried it out of 
the city into the Campus Martius, where a beautiful pyramid of wood, with 
several stones, had been erected. The first story was square, being a sort 
of chamber filled with various sorts of combustible matter, and richly 
adorned on the outside with cloth of gold, ivory statues, and fine pictures ; 
the second of a similar character, but smaller size, had the four sides 
open ; the third was still less ; after which was a fourth, and, indeed, 
many other successive stories, each decreasing in proportion, till the last 
ended in a point. The bed and statue were placed in the second story, 
in presence of noblemen and gentry of every nation, who desired to do 
honour to the deceased. Then the Eoman knights rode on horseback 
round the pile in a certain order, to the sound of warlike instruments ; 
afterwards persons in chariots, in purple robes, who represented the most 
celebrated Roman commanders and emperors ; after this Caracalla and 
Geta, the successors of Severus, fired the pile with torches, and consuls, 
senators, and knights followed their example. It was wrapped instantly 
in flames, and from the top an eagle was let fly, which was out of sight 
in an instant, amid the shouts of the spectators, who, believing the bird 
carried the Emperor's soul to heaven, from that time forward paid him 
the same homage they rendered to the immortal gods. 

The disunion which existed between the brothers did not diminish, and 
they continually had recourse to the Empress, who officiated as mediatrix. 
A negotiation was set on foot respecting a division of the empire, but this 
plan, first proposed by Geta, was broken by Julia, who desired to keep 
her sons together, and foresaw the step would lead to the ruin of the state. 
On this occasion she threw herself at their feet, begging that they would 
divide her too between them. She had omitted no opportunity before of 
reconciling her sons, and now by her prayers and tears established an 
appearance at least of concord between them. Accordingly, medals were 
stamped with tne images of the two brothers joining hands, and surrounded 
by the motto " Happy Concord." 

Caracalla, who ever listened with respect and apparent deference to the 
arguments of the Empress, agreed to abide by her decision, and had 



JULIA. 93 

arranged to meet his long-divided brother in her apartments, for the pur- 
pose of a lasting reconciliation. The heart of Julia beat with joy at the 
prospect of witnessing so tender a reunion, and the meeting so earnestly 
desired actually took place in her presence ; it was then that, in the midst 
of a conversation which had commenced among the reunited members of 
the divided family, some centurions who had been concealed in the apart- 
ment, rushed suddenly with drawn swords upon the young and helpless 
Geta. Vainly did Julia cast her maternal arms around her child to shield 
him from death. In the dreadful struggle she received a wound in the 
hand from his assassins, and beheld on one side the horrid spectacle of 
Caracalla animating and assisting the murderers, upon the other, Geta 
falling dead at her feet, her own person being covered with his blood. 

The fratricide flew to the Praetorian camp, where he fell prostrate before 
the statues of the tutelary deities of the camps. Supported by the army 
he next hurried to the Senate, and prevailed on that obsecpuious assembly 
to declare in his favour. His brother's funeral over, Caracalla returned 
to the palace, where he found the Empress-Mother surrounded by her 
women, bewailing in the most moving manner the death of her son. His 
first impulse was to put them all to death, but passion yielded to pity, and 
he showed great kindness to Julia, to whom he even ordered that the 
same honours should be paid as were rendered to himself. The heart- 
breaking scene might have moved one even more stern than that stony- 
breasted Emperor; and indeed, what were all the world's honour's to Julia 
at that moment — a widowed wife, deploring the loss of an only and 
dearly-beloved son ! But the silent reproach of those who surrounded the 
Empress, revived the fury of the murderer, and he commanded them to 
disperse, on pain of death ; while, to prove that he was in earnest, he 
ordered that one of the terrified mourners should be led away to instant 
execution. Fadilla, the unfortunate victim of his anger, was daughter 
of Marcus Aurelius, and sister of Commodus, both Emperors ; she her- 
self had rendered state-services, by pleading the cause of the people, and 
preserving the life of a Roman emperor, besides having quelled an insur- 
rection. All this was overlooked by Caracalla, who only beheld the tears 
shed in the first moment of grief for the death of the young and bloom- 
ing Geta — a tribute due to the bereaved Empress. This severity had 
the effect expected, and silenced all remonstrances from the women. 
Fadilla, the personal friend and confidante of Julia, was the first of a 
series of victims, termed " the friends of Geta." It is said that no less than 
2000 persons of both sexes suffered on this occasion, amongst whom was 
Papinian, the most eminent lawyer in Rome, the particular friend both 
of Severus and Julia ; his crime was having declined composing a defence 
for the Emperor, for he observed " It is easier to commit fratricide than 
to justify it !" Rome was filled with mourning, and the loss of Severus 
was regarded as a public calamity. Even before he emitted Britain, the 
sanguinary Caracalla had ordered the death of his wife Plautina. For 
the sake of the city, for the sake even of Caracalla himself, Julia sup- 
pressed her own sufferings; she saw the necessity of resuming her influ- 
ence over the government, which Caracalla allowed ; and during the whole 
of his reign, she administered the chief affairs of the State, " with a jus 



94 JULIA. 

tice that supported his authority, and with a moderation that sometimes 
corrected his wild extravagances." On one occasion she remarked to the 
Emperor how much he exhausted the people by his rapacity ; that they 
were no longer able to pay their accustomed taxes : Caracalla's reply was 
characteristic of himself, "I shall have whatever money I want as long as 
I can command a sword." 

Advanced in life, Julia still possessed the attractions of beauty, a lively 
imagination, a firmness of mind, and strength of judgment seldom be- 
stowed on her sex. Spartian, and some other authors, have related that 
Julia consented to become the wife of Caracalla, and that their nuptials 
were publicly celebrated, which, if true, would have allied her to the 
murderer of her only son ; but others consider Caracalla to have been 
only her step-son, which is under every point of her history apparent. 1 
The tale seems to have originated in a scandal of the Alexandrians, who 
called her Jocasta because she lived at court after the death of Geta. 
Dion plainly intimates that she durst not do otherwise, since any concern 
for the son she had lost might have cost her her life ; and he relates that 
she secretly mourned over the extravagances of Caracalla, passing the 
greater portion of her time, during the latter years of her life, in the 
society of learned men. She would hardly have acted thus, if guilty of 
such a crime. Julia did indeed accompany the Emperor to the East, but 
they were not residing at the same spot when he was murdered. 

Maternianus 2 wrote to Caracalla, then at Edessa, informing him that 
he had heard Macrinus repeat a prediction that himself was to arrive at 
the imperial power. Julia was at time staying at Antioch, and the Em- 
peror, who was at Edessa, had given her instructions in his absence to 
read all his dispatches. Fully empowered to do so, when the letter of 
Maternianus fell into Julia's hands, she read it, and transmitted it to 
Caracalla; but before it reached him, Macrinus, who attended him there, 
had received private information of the circumstance direct from Rome. 3 
Caracalla was driving a chariot at the public shows, when a packet was 
handed to him containing the letter of Maternianus, and passing them to 
Macrinus to read, the future Emperor found it among the rest. 

The particulars of Caracalla's murder need not be dwelt on here ; the 
assassin had been hired by some military conspirators, and at the end of 
three days Macrinus received from the army the predicted dignity of 
Emperor. By his orders, Caracalla's body was burnt, and the ashes con- 
veyed to Antioch to Julia, who was overwhelmed with her new afflic- 
tion. Some say she mourned but the loss of that power which she so 
much loved, and to which she had sacrificed her feelings. She had, to 
this advanced age, retained the title of Augusta, and a great part of the 
business of the government passed through her hands : Macrinus gave 
her to understand that she was to retain the dignity of Augusta, with its 

1 Had this scandal of Julia, however, been true, both Herodian and Dion Cas- 
sius were ready enough to admit anything against Caracalla, and they do not 
even mention it. 

2 Captain of the Guards at Rome. 

3 By a courier from Ulpius Julianus, his particular friend. 



JULIA. 95 

rank, and to have the honour of continuing guards for her person. On 
this she resolved no longer to devote her thoughts to death, but to con- 
tinue to live according to her former dignity. Macrinus soon, however, 
discovered a cabal with the soldiers, in which she was engaged ; so that 
he hastily ordered her to withdraw from Antioch. This sudden change 
decided her as to what course she would adopt, and abstaining from food, 
she died, it is said, either of inanition or poison, unable to live as a sub- 
ject, 1 after a life passed in the enjoyment of supreme power. This event 
took place A. d. 217, fifteen years after the death of Severus. 

The vicissitudes of the life of Julia did not, till the last, affect her 
spirit or disarm her fortitude. A gifted woman, elevated from a humble 
station to the highest pinnacle of earthly splendour, her hapniness is pro- 
blematical. The dreadful death of her only son, and the extravagant 
follies of Caracalla, must have corroded at her heart, amidst all the 
stately honours and dignity she so much coveted. During the latter 
period of her existence, her chief enjoyment was that fertile one afforded 
by the society of the learned, whom to the very last she fostered and pro- 
tected. If her youth was charged with folly, the qualities she displayed 
during her after-life may atone for her errors, looking upon her as a public 
character. She was always disposed to intercede with Severus, and avert 
his severity, and from her Caracalla received wise counsels. Literature 
and science followed her footsteps, or sprung up afresh from the decline 
into which they had fallen. To her, perhaps, were the children of her 
sister Julia Mscsa, who was with her when she died, indebted for the 
advice which led them on to their future greatness. 2 The failings of Julia 
have been severely visited by historians. Such failings in exalted persons 
may remind us of the imperfection of all here below. Had Julia's career 
been less brilliant, less exposed to temptation, she had perhaps exhibited 
fewer of those imperfections, which the higher the object is placed, become 
the more manifest. 

In her character as a British sovereign, her acts appear to advantage, 
as she certainly helped to refine the manners of the rude people amongst 
whom she sojourned. 

1 Echard. 

2 Julia Maesa, after the death of the Empress, her sister, was ordered to quit 
the country. During the twenty years she had spent at the imperial court, she 
had acquired an immense fortune, and contracted splendid alliances. She retired 
to her native city, Emessa, taking her wealth with her, and accompanied by her 
two daughters and their sons, — for each was a widow, and had an only child. 
Bassianus, a son of one of these daughters, became priest of the sun at Emessa ; 
and the troops perceiving his strong resemblance to their favorite Caracalla, and, 
nioi-eover, bribed by his mother, at the instigation of Julia Msesa, declared him 
Emperor. Perhaps the anticipation of Julia Domina's connivance at some such 
enterprising scheme had caused the severity shown to her by Macrinus. Bas- 
sianus, afterwards well known as Heliogabalus, proved so unworthy, that the 
army soon repented of their choice, and, attracted by the virtues of his cousin 
Alexander, son of the other daughter of Julia Maesa, they raised him to the im- 
perial power ; in which capacity, after the murder of Heliogabalus, being guided 
by his mother's excellent counsels, he displayed, during thirteen years, remark- 
able wisdom and prudence. His death took place a. d. H35. 



VICTORIA, VITURGIA, AND HUNILA, 

EMPRESSES OF THE WEST. 

Zenobia and Victoria — Influence of both — Chai-acter of Victorinus — His Murder, 
and that of his Son — Marius chosen by the Empress — His history and fate — 
Posthumus succeeds — iElianus — Tetricus appointed by Victoria — Constantius 
Chlorua in Britain — Victoria's sudden death by the treachery of Tetricus — 
Aurelian's Roman triumph — Viturgia and Proculus — Bonosus the Pedagogue 
— His rise — Aurelian bestows Hunila upon him — He proclaims himself Empe- 
ror of Britain, Gaul and Spain — His death — Probus settles a pension on 
Hunila. 

The vast Empire of Rome, at the period of the accession of the Em- 
peror Aurelian, A. D. 270, was divided between two rivals in talent, in 
fame, and at the last, in misfortune, — Zenobia, Empress of the Eastern 
division of the Roman territory, and Victoria, the not less deservedly 
celebrated Empress of the West. 1 It is not without pleasure, that in so 
distant a period we hail the name which our present beloved Sovereign 
has engraven on each true British heart, — a name destined to be illus- 
trious ; for the Empress Queen of Gaul, Spain and Britain, occupied a 
position among the most distinguished of her times, and by her character 
and actions illuminated the darkness of the Western hemisphere. "Au- 
relia Victoria Augusta" possessed such vast power, that she raised as 
many as six candidates to the imperial dignity, in defiance of the Roman 
arms, while to the last fatal scene of her existence she maintained the 
supreme authority over those she had exalted, and over the people whom 
she had appointed them to rule. 

The " Heroine of the West," as Victoria has been designated, was not 
of British birth, though Britain was included under the dominions over 
which she held control ; she was a native of Gaul, and by her adroitness 
succeeded in persuading 2 Posthumus, on his elevation to the empire, to 
receive her son, Marcus Victorinus, for his colleague in power. The 
assumption of the purple by Posthumus is placed in the year 265, when 
he was proclaimed throughout Gaul, Spain, and Britain ; so highly was 
he esteemed by Valerian, that when appointed to the government of 
Gaul, that Emperor wrote to the people in these terms of commendation : 
" He is one whom I esteem above the rest, and think the most worthy 
of all to represent the Prince." Among the list of thirty tyrants who 
aspired to the imperial power during the reigns of Gallien and Probus, 
we accordingly find those of Victoria, Victorinus, and Posthumus. 

The enterprising Victoria was little inferior in merit to her celebrated 
contemporary, Zenobia; she possessed great courage and ambition, and 
no sooner had she accomplished her project of securing the empire for 

1 Gibbon. a Gibbon. 

(96) 



VICTORIA. 97 

her son, than her superior qualities began to unfold themselves. It was 
Victoria who really governed the state, though business was transacted 
in the name of her son and his colleague; so extraordinary a power had 
she over the minds of the soldiery, that she could rely on their executing 
her every wish. Trebellius Pollio, in his account of the "Usurpers," 
has introduced Victoria to cast contempt on Gallien, by a contrast be- 
tween himself and the boldness of the women of his time. Victorinus 
was generally governed by his mother's politic counsels, who, for her 
valour and masculine courage, was styled " Mother of Armies." By her 
assistance he opposed Lollianus, whom he defeated and slew in a sharp 
battle, remaining sole master of Gaul, together with his mother, who was 
associated with him under the title of Augusta. 1 The influence exercised 
by the Empress in this situation is compared, by a modern writer, 2 to that 
possessed by Mammsea in an earlier period of the Roman history, and 
considered to have been "at least as constitutional." 

Cologne was the seat of the Imperial Government of the West, and 
Victoria, who resided in that city, exercised, in her son's name, all the 
functions of royalty, while he devoted himself to a life of pleasure, al- 
though he is said to have been by nature endowed with every quality 
requisite to form a hero ; and to have equalled Trajan in bravery, Anto- 
ninus in clemency, Nerva in gravity, Vespasian in managing the public 
money, and Pertinax and Severus in his care of the military discipline. 
The author, 3 who considered " no one ought to be preferred to Victo- 
rinus," somewhat contradicts his commendation, when he adds, that his 
besetting vices " drowned all his good qualities, and cast such a blemish 
upon his reputation, that no one dares to record the virtues of a man 
whom all own to have deserved the doom which, in the end, overtook 
him." 4 This doom could not be averted by all the virtues of his mother. 

On his first elevation to power, Victorinus had controlled his evil pas- 
sions; but afterwards, imagining his high rank raised him above control, 
disregarding fear or censure, he threw off the restraint, and lost the affec- 
tions of his soldiers by his immoral conduct towards their wives. 5 The 
plot formed in consequence against the life of Victorinus succeeded so 
suddenly, as scarcely to leave him time to name his son Victorinus Au- 
gustus as his successor. This step, in the event of any emergency, had 
been advised by Victoria, who appears to have foreseen the fate of her 
son. The heavy wound her mother's heart received in his loss, did not 
deprive her of her presence of mind. She instantly caused her grandson 
to be proclaimed Emperor, and assumed an unlimited power in his name. 
The honours thus secured proved, however, fatal to the child ; for the 
murderers of his father, in fear of their personal safety under the do- 
minion of Victoria, succeeded in effecting the death of the young Em- 
peror almost immediately after. 

Victoria's mind did not, however, sink under this double misfortune ; 
from henceforward she resolved to preserve that throne, which, during 
five years, she had maintained in her son's name. She determined to 

1 Echard. 2 Sir F. Palgrave. 

3 Julius Alexianus. 4 Univ. Hist. 6 Lives of the Empresses. 

9 Q 



98 VICTORIA. 

govern over the whole empire, by electing some general who should en- 
tirely depend on herself. Marius appeared to her well fitted for this 
purpose, and accordingly she proposed him to the legions, and so well 
employed her powers of persuasion in his behalf, that she obtained his 
election as Emperor. 1 

Marius was by trade an armourer, which cast some ridicule on his 
election • but he was possessed of " intrepid courage, matchless strength, 
and blunt honesty." 2 In conformity with the terms on which Victoria 
had assisted in his elevation, she was suffered to enjoy the solid power, 
while the honours of the government rested on him. At the time 
he received the purple, notwithstanding his mean origin, he had, after 
passing through every inferior degree, arrived at the dignity of a general ; 
yet so hurt was he one day at an allusion to his former condition made 
by one who had worked under him in his shop, to learn the trade, and 
who came to congratulate him when Emperor, that he received him with 
the greatest contempt. This unexpected conduct so provoked the man, 
that he killed Marius on the spot, exclaiming as he stabbed him : " This 
very sword you made yourself." 3 

Posthumus, the colleague of Victorinus, succeeded, and reigned for 
seven years. 

In the year 266 a new opponent for the empire arose at Mentz, in the 
person of ^lianus, 4 but he was defeated by Posthumus, 5 who, however, 
so displeased the soldiers, by not yielding up the city to be plundered, 
that they put him and his son, the younger Posthumus, to death ; when 
iElianus assumed the imperial diadem, and was proclaimed in that part 
of Gaul bordering the Rhine, while the rest was, that which had been 
governed by Victorinus. 6 That Desidianus iElianus had governed the 
Roman troops in the north of England, during the reigns of Valerian 
and Gallian, appears by an inscription found in Northumberland. 

Trebellius Pollio writes concerning Victoria, that after she had beheld 
her son aud grandson slain by the soldiers, and the others in succession 
cut off, she stirred up Tetricus, a man of a noble family, and chief ruler 
of Acjuitaine, to seize the rule ; and by largely bribing the legions, Vic- 
toria at length caused him to be proclaimed Emperor, together with his 
son Ctesar, throughout Gaul, and he was soon after acknowledged in 
Spain aud Britain. 

Tetricus, who was related to the Empress-Queen Victoria, was, at the 
time of his elevation, commanding a part of Gaul; and as soon as Vic- 
toria had procured his nomination, she sent an express to inform him of 
his new dignity, exhorting him not to refuse an honour conferred upon 
him by the army. He received the imperial robe at Bordeaux, and 

1 Lives of the Empresses. 2 Gibbon. 3 Lives of the Empresses. 

4 "Lollianus and iElianus are supposed to be the same." — Gibbon. 

6 Some coins of Posthumus were found in a Roman vase, which contained others 
of the Emperor Valerian, and was dug up by some workmen in a field, at Charl- 
ton, in Cheshire, where they had been buried three feet below the surface. — 
Journal of Science and the Arts. 

Univ. Hist. 



VICTORIA. 99 

shortly after showed himself worthy of his election and the Queen's 
patronage, by the courage and judgment he displayed during the war in 
Spain. In his absence in that country, Victoria held the entire govern- 
ment of Gaul, and conducted every affair of the state, according to the 
arrangement she had made with Tetricus. Placing herself at the 
head of her army, she maintained her authority independent of the 
Roman arms; for after successfully making head against Gallien, after 
placing in succession her son, grandson, and Marius on the throne, she 
had raised Tetricus to the empire, in spite of the power of Claudius. 
Coins of brass, gold, and silver, were coined in her name, and bore her 
impression, specimens of which were still to be seen at Treves, in the 
time of Pollio. Even during the reign of Aurelian, she opposed the im- 
perial arms with an undaunted spirit. At that time Tetricus was in 
Britain, and Aurelian despatched Constantius Chlorus to that country to 
oppose him. 1 It is not certain whether Victoria herself was ever in this 
island, but a city in Scotland bears the name of the heroine. So great 
was the renown of this Queen, that it had not only filled all Gaul, but 
had spread to the limits of the Eastern Roman Empire. Zenobia, the 
competitor of Aurelian, heard with pleasure of the grandeur of the " He- 
roine of the West," and is said to have desired nothing so much as to 
join her forces to those of the Amazonian Queen, that they might 
together conquer the whole world ! 2 

Tetricus had at first yielded to the desire of Victoria, to enjoy the 
supreme authority; but as soon as he was securely fixed in power, he 
resolved to shake off the sway of a woman. Victoria, deeply wounded 
at his ingratitude, would have revenged herself; but Tetricus, aware of 
her intention, put a period to her existence, within a few months after he 
had received from her the gift of an empire. Thus, in the very height 
of her power and success, this remarkable woman, distinguished for her 
powers of mind and masculine judgment, was cut off by means of the 
very agent which she had herself created, in hopes of securing the con 
tinuance of her sway. 

It is thought that the traitor Emperor had expected by this means to 
ingratiate himself with Aurelian, at whose feet he shortly after threw 
himself, to be dealt with according to his pleasure. 3 At this critical 
juncture, when Victoria was no more, and Tetricus in his power, the 
Gallic army was attacked by the forces of Aurelian, when, fighting with- 
out a leader and without order, it was easily cut to pieces. By this 
decisive victory, near Chalons upon the Marne, the Emperor Aurelian 
obtained the dominion of Gaul, Spain, and Britain. The year 274 wit- 
nessed his triumphal entry into Rome, which was conducted in the most 
superb manner, and graced by the presence of Zenobia and Tetricus. 
The captives of the several conquered nations, on this memorable occa- 
sion, followed the triumphal chariot with their hands tied behind them. 
The Eastern Queen was so loaded with jewels, that she could scarce 
support their weight, but was compelled to stop from time to time to take 

1 Morant's Colchester. a Lives of the Empresses. 

3 The reign of Tetricus lasted altogether for six years. 



100 VITURGIA. 

breath : some Egyptians of rank, taken at the defeat of Firraus, and the 
principal lords of Palmyra, did honour to this ceremony. Amongst the 
rest were seen Tetricus ; his son accompanied him : both were attired in 
the Gallic costume, — trowsers, a saffron tunic, and a purple mantle, " one 
of the earliest instances of French fashions," remarks Lady Morgan, 
" recorded in the pages of history." 

The Romans were surprised that Aurelian should cause a woman, and 
a Roman senator, who had been Consul, to mix in the procession with 
the Goths, Vandals, and other barbarians ; but the Emperor justified his 
conduct on this point to the Senate, and ever after treated Tetricus with 
the greatest kindness, to repair the affront put upon him, calling him at 
times his " colleague," and at others honouring him with the empty title 
of " Emperor." 

Victoria was more happy than either Zenobia or Tetricus, in having 
escaped by death ' the indignity of appearing in this humiliating scene. 
She left her fame untarnished by disgrace, to descend with the memory 
of her virtues to succeeding ages. 

The renown of Victoria inspired the women of her times with high 
projects and haughty daring. Through the suggestions of Viturgia, wife 
of Proculus, that robber chieftain afterwards assumed the imperial power 
at Cologne. 2 Viturgia was seconded in her ambitious project by Sampso, 
a woman of as much spirit and daring as she herself possessed, endowed 
with a manly courage. Proculus had first armed two thousand slaves on 
his own behalf; after which he entered the army, became Tribune, and 
had the command of several legions, which instigated him to attempt the 
purple. Further stimulated by his wife, and supported by the people of 
Cologne, he caused himself to be proclaimed Emperor in that city, and 
was afterwards acknowledged throughout the western division of the Ro- 
man Empire, including Britain. Proculus was, however, defeated by 
Probus, and taking refuge with the Franks, from whom he pretended to 
derive his origin, was delivered up to the Emperor, and punished as he 
merited. 

The famous Bonosus, the colleague in power of Proculus, was of 
Spanish descent, but his parents were of British birth, 3 and his father 
taught the rudiments of the Latin language, then the vehicle of all 
learning in a public school. Bonosus had entered the army very young, 
and from a soldier worked his way up through the successive intervening 
degrees, till he became a general under Aurelian. The Emperor who 
had made him Governor under Rhaetia, gave him for his wife a princess 
of the blood-royal of the Goths, whom he had made his prisoner during 
his twenty years' war against that people. Hunila, and nine other Gothic 
womeu, in the habit of the other sex, had fought in an engagement be- 
tween Aurelian and Cannabaud, a Gothic prince. After the battle, in 
which Cannabaud was slain, 4 some of these females were found dead on 

1 Some say that the Queen died a natural death. 

2 Univ. Hist. Gibbon. 3 Some say his mother was of Gallic origin. 

4 The chariot drawn by four stags, which Aurelian took from this Gothic 
prince, was used by him afterwards in his triumphal entry into Rome. 



HUN I LA. 101 

the battle-field, and others taken prisoners by the Komans. The latter, 
among whom was Hunila, were entertained by Aurelian in a manner 
suitable to their sex and dignity. When peace was made with the Goths, 
Aurelian exacted some of the sons and daughters of their chiefs as hos- 
tages, that the youths might be trained up near his own person, and the 
damsels be educated in the Roman fashion. Hunila and the other noble 
Gothic women, were given afterwards in marriage to his principal officers, 
in the hope that the two nations might be cemented by these close and 
endearing connections. 1 

Hunila was distinguished beyond her companions for beauty, wit, and 
virtue ; and in giving her to Bonosus, the Emperor calculated, through 
her means, on becoming acquainted with the great men among the Goths, 
who he hoped would, in feasting and drinking with Bonosus, discover to 
him their secret views and designs. 2 

Bonosus, however, having through neglect caused the Roman fleet on 
the Rhine to be burnt by the Germans, was so afraid of being punished, 
that he assumed the sovereignty, and caused himself to be proclaimed 
Emperor by the troops under his command, — a position in which he 
maintained himself longer than was expected, his sway extending over 
Gaul, Spain, and Britain. The last a country which has been named 
" an isle fertile in usurpers." 3 

Bonosus had, however, like Victorinus, a vice which counterbalanced 
his good qualities, that of inebriety. He was a slave to Bacchus, and 
is said to have been able to drink as much as ten men, without being 
in the least disordered; 4 this was the cause of his downfall. After fight- 
ing several battles with Probus, the Emperor who succeded Aurelian, he 
was finally defeated in a sharp engagement, when he died by his own 
hand, to avoid falling into the hands of the conqueror. 5 When Bonosus 
hanged himself, his well-known failing caused the jest to be passed upon 
him, that " there hung a bottle not a man." 

Probus destroying the rebellious Gauls, however, not only spared the 
life of Hunila, on account of her virtue and beauty, but settled an an- 
nual pension upon her, and suffered the sons she had borne to Bonosus 
to enjoy their patrimonial estate. 6 

Gibbon. 2 Univ. Hist. 

a Nearly all the Thirty Tyrants were, like Bonosus, persons of mean birth, who 
had become exalted through their merit, being considered as models of virtue 
and ability, and raised at first by the Imperial notice, had afterwards assumed 
the purple ; the term Tyrant then signifying not an abuser of power, but simply 
an usurper. — Gibbon. 

4 Echard, Univ. Hist. s Ibid. 

6 Probus was the first Emperor who permitted Gaul, Spain, and Britain to plant 
vineyards and to make wine. At the first coming of the Romans, the Britons 
were unacquainted with the vine, but a licence being granted by Probus for its 
cultivation, it soon became a very common produce. An early account of Lon- 
don informs us that, in the metropolis itself, we had one vineyard in East Smith- 
field, another in Hatton Garden (which is at this time called Vine-street), and a 
third in St. Giles's in the Fields. The various other Vine-streets in Bloomsbury, 
Westminster, Lambeth, and the Borough, have had a similar origin. 
Q* 



102 HUNILA. 

The Irish coma, or horn, was not devoted by our ancestors to martial pur- 
poses alone, but used to quaff their mead, a custom with the Danish hunters even 
in the present day. — Walker. The ancient Scots, as well as the present High- 
landers, drank in shells ; hence, in the old poetry, we often meet with the expres- 
sion, the " chief of shells," and the "halls of shells," while to "rejoice in the 
shell," meant to feast sumptuously and drink freely. 

The poems of Ossian describe Bosmina, when sent by her father Fingal on an 
embassy of peace, as bearing in her right hand a sparkling shell, and in the left 
an arrow of gold, — the first the joyful mark of peace, the latter the sign of war. 
Allusion is also made by the poet to the wine of the strangers, i. e. the Romans, 
and the wax [wax-lights are often mentioned as among the spoils] taken in 
their warfare ; this was during the expedition of Severus into the northern parts 
of Britain. 



ST. HELENA. 

Daughter of Coel, the Ilawk-faced — Particulars of her birth — Her accomplish- 
ments and virtues — Constantius in Britain — Carausius — Romantic stories of 
Helena — Disputes as to her birth — Colchester claims the honour — She marries 
Constantius — Her children — Reverses — Galerius and Valeria — Constantius and 
Theodora — Maximian — Helena's self-devotion — Empty honours — Constantiue 
at Rome — The four Empires — York — Character of Constantius — Persecution 
of Christians — Theodora's children — Constantia — Death of Constantius — Ex- 
cellent conduct of Helena to Theodora — Power she enjoyed — Fausta and her 
father : The Plot discovered, and its punishment — Policy of Helena — Expedi- 
tion of Constantine against Maxentius — The Cross — Conversion of the Empe- 
ror — Cities founded in honour of Helena — Helena's writings — Tragedy of 
Fausta and her son — Helena undertakes the care of the children of the Empe- 
ror — At eighty, Helena undertakes her journey to the East — The finding of 
the Cross — Relics — Her death — Honours to her memory — Traces of Helena in 
Britain — Her Causeway. 

" Coell ruled the realme in lawe and peace full well, 
A doghter had he, and none other heyre, — 
Eleyn that hight, farre passing good and fayre." 

Harding's Chronicle. 

" Of all the Christian world, that Empress most renowned, 
Constantius' worthy wife." — Drayton's Poly Olbion. 

In such terms as these are we introduced by the poets to the Empress 
Queen, St. Helena, whose fine character and whose romantic history 
afford a most brilliant and pleasing subject for biography. 

Coel, 1 King of the Britons, the father of Helena, by some surnamed 
"'the Hawk- Faced," began to reign over that portion of territory known 
in the present day as Essex and Hertfordshire, in the year 23S, 2 and 
added the principality of North Wales to his dominions shortly after, by 
his marriage with Seradwen, its heiress, a princess descended of the royal 
house of Eudda, 3 whence in still later times came the — 

" Pendragon kings of Uther's royal race," 
amongst whom was the celebrated Arthur. 

The wife of Coel was the only daughter of Cadfan, son of Conan ap 
Eudda, King of Wales. 

It is supposed by some writers that one daughter alone was born to the 
royal pair, the princess afterwards known as St. Helena; there were, how- 

1 Harding, Rennet, Baronius, Lewis, Polydore, Virgil, Baleus, and many others, 
assert that Helen was daughter of Coel, King of the Britons. 

a Colchester Chrouicle. 3 Sir John Price, Warrington, Rowlands. 

(103) 



104 ST. HELENA. 

ever, three children ; of -whom the eldest was Tiboen, or Helena; the 
second, Guala, the British name of Julia; and the third, a prince who 
bore the maternal family designation of Conan. 1 Of this prince, who, 
on his father's death, retired, to govern over the northern territories 
acquired by his mother Seradwen, which are placed by one of our writers 2 
at the wall of Antoninus, history almost entirely loses sight in following 
the more splendid fortunes of his two royal sisters, Helena and Julia ; the 
one destined to create a new line of Emperors in the Roman world ; the 
other, to transmit to her descendants that imperial dignity, which, through 
the royal current of the Pendragon family, descended to Cadwallader, the 
last British Prince of Wales of Roman descent, and passed on to the 
family of Tudor, of which Henry the Seventh was the first, and our pre- 
sent Sovereign Lady, Victoria, the latest royal representative. 3 

Helena was a name derived from the Greek, signifying "pitiful," and 
given in later times to Coel's daughter, by the Romans, on account of 
her compassionate disposition. Her true British name was Tiboen, 4 thus 
written in some Welch lines quoted by Mr. Rowlands : — 

" Tiboen ferch Coel Godebog 
I Gred a gafoad y Grog." 

Many other titles were borne by this excellent princess, such as the 
surname of " Lueddog," and the noble name of Flavia obtained on her 
marriage with Constantius, the descendant of Vespasian, who derived it 
from that Emperor, through his own great-uncle, Claudius Gothicus. The 
title of Augusta was added when Helena was made Empress; conse- 
quently, by some historians she is called Flavia Julia Helena Augusta ; 
her brilliant fortunes towards the close of her long career acquired her, 
moreover, the epithets of " the Prosperous" and " the Powerful ;" and 
to crown the virtue and piety of this memorable princess with the highest 
distinction, the religious of after-ages have awarded to her the veneration 
of a saint ; so that the name of St. Helena has descended to us with more 
than mere mortal celebrity. 

1 Or, Cenan ap Coel ; Rowland's Mona Antiqua. 2 Carte, Gibbon. 

3 The following table exhibits the House of Eudda : — 
Eudda, King of North Wales. 

Kynan, son of Eudda. 



Cadfan, son of Kynan. Caradoc, brother of Cadfan. 

Coel Godebog, =Seradwen, only daughter of Cadfan. 
married to 
Seradwen. 



Ellen Lueddog. Guala. Kenan, son of Coel. 

In this table [taken from Owen's Pedigrees] the name of Ellen Lueddog is 
substituted for that of Tiboen, or Helen, used by Mr. Rowlands, and for Dyfyn, 
the name attributed by Sir John Price to her. 

4 In the north of England, Tibby is still used as an abbreviation of Helen. 



ST. HELENA. 105 

Roman and British writers differ in many particulars respecting the 
life of the daughter of Coel. Those Greek and Latin authors who were 
her contemporaries, writing with the party-spirit of their times, have 
testified a partiality to the side of their own country, whenever its honour 
became placed in collision with that of Britain. As regards the history 
of a princess of British birth, the testimonials of her native historians 
are probably most to be depended upon, and may be considered as surer 
guides to truth. 

The principal evidence extant, respecting the birth of St. Helena, is 
that of the " Colchester Chronicle," preserved in that city. According 
to this document, her birth took place at Colchester, about A. D. 242, four 
years after her father mounted the throne. 1 This testimony is not only 
universally admitted by British historians, and confirmed by foreign 
writers, but borne out by the local traditions of that neighbourhood; for 
from ages past, even to the present day, it has been the boast of the in- 
habitants of Colchester, that St. Helena was born there; and in com- 
memoration of the holy cross which she afterwards discovered, the arms 
of the town are a knotty cross between four crowns. 2 

The erroneous idea taken up by some authors, of Helena being an 
only child, seems to have arisen from the superior pains bestowed on her 
education by her father, who destined her to become his successor on the 
throne. To be Queen of the Britons, even then, was a high and glorious 
destiny ; but Coel could scarcely have imagined to what an eminence she 
would rise, when he predicted, from the precocity of Helena's talents, 
the distinction she would attain ; and, in consequence, determined that 
her brother and sister should receive as their inheritance his northern 
states, 3 and the southern be appropriated to her, his eldest-born. Coel, 
however proud of her acquirements, could not then have contemplated, 
in this favourite child, the future Roman Empress, — one with whose name 
all the Roman as well the British Empire, should resound ; nor could he 
dream that the daughter of a Pagan prince should lead the bright proces- 
sion of Christian converts onward to an immortal and imperishable king- 
dom, unlike his, never to pass away ! Yet such was the career marked 
out by Heaven for the Empress Queen of Constantius, the daughter of 
the British Coel. 4 

1 Morant's Colchester, Baleus, Lewis. 

2 The following is the entry in the beginning of the ancient Record Book of 
that city, commonly called the Oath Book, which by the hand appears to have 
been written about the beginning of Edward III.'s reign; a. d. 242, Helena filia 
Coelis nascitur in Colocestria." Morant's Colchester, Baleus, Geoffrey of Mon- 
mouth. 

3 At a later period, probably after Cenan ap Coel's death, the Princess Julia, 
marrying Edern ap Padarn, a northern prince, inherited her mother's Welsh 
estates. — Owen's Pedigrees. 

* Leland, Camden, Glastonbury Historian, &c. Among those who call Helena 
a native of Britain, without naming Colchester, were Butler, Polydore Vergil, 
and Flavius Julius Dexter. St. Ambrose, Cedrenus, Nicephorus, cited by Gib- 
bon, and other modern writers, deny that she was a native of Britain. Camden 
tells us, only one author states she was born at Naissus ; and Drake calls her a 
native of York, from a speech made by some English orators at the councils of 
Constance and Basil, — an opinion, he thought, which received confirmation from 
the anonymous panegyrist of her son Constantine. 



106 ST. HE LEX A. 

Gifted by nature in a preeminent degree, Helena's beauty surpassed 
that of any of the British maidens, her companions; 1 she possessed, 
moreover, " an innate brightness of wit, eloquence of speech, and elegant 
manners," which added still greater charms. 2 In a knowledge of the 
liberal arts, she is said not only to have surpassed her own countrywomen, 
but those of every other nation ; and she was particularly distinguished 
by her taste for music, in which she had attained great proficiency. 
Spenser, in his " Faerie Queene," thus celebrates the praises of our 
Island Princess, whom he calls — 

"Fayre Helena, the fairest living wight, 
Who in all godly themes and goodly praise 
Did far excell, but was most famous hight 
For skill in musicke of all in her daies, 
As well in curious instruments as cunninge laies." 

There seems to be no doubt that Helena was both a musician and a 
poetess, for certain literary works attributed to her are even now said to 
be extant; among which are noted a volume of Greek poems, — for Helena 
was deeply read in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin lore. 3 Even a royal lady 
of modern times might have been proud of the compliments lavished on 
the daughter of Coel by historians; one calling her "both fair, and wise, 
and good, and well lettered," 4 while another designates her "a noble lady 
and a learned." 5 

She had arrived at her eighteenth year 6 when the event occurred which 
drew her forth from her studious life, and shed the first bright ray on the 
path of her future greatness. This was her marriage to Constantius, at 
that time only in the dawn of his own rising fortunes. 

Flavius Valerius Constantius, surnamed " Chlorus," according to some 
historians, from the green garments he wore in childhood, or from his 
pale complexion, was of imperial descent, his mother Claudia being niece 
of the Emperor Claudius Gothicus. 7 His father, a noble lord of Illyria, 
was a native of Naissus, the capital of the Dardanian nation, which con- 
sisted of a great part of Mcesia, and there the earliest years of Constantius 
were passed. There also the orders of Aurelian, under whom the youth 
first bore arms, reached him. For these reasons the city was, in after- 
times, embellished by the filial affection of his son, Constantine the 
Great, with many noble buildings. 

Though Aurelian never visited Britain in person, he was a great deal 
in Gaul during the wars with the usurpers; and Constantius also was 
there, no doubt, at that time, having entered the army at the age of four- 
teen, and being at the time of Aurelian's accession in his twentieth year, 
A. r>. 270. Three years after, when Zenobia and Tetricus were being 
paraded in Rome, in the triumphal procession of Aurelian, Constantius 
was distinguishing himself, and obtained a great victory for the Romans, 
at Vindomessa, in Switzerland. He afterwards was known as the "con- 

1 Owain's Chronicle. a Baleus. 3 Caxton. 

4 Holinshed. s Ibid. 6 Geoffrey of Monmouth. 

1 Vie de Constantin ; Leigh's Choice Observations. 



ST. HELENA. 107 

queror of Spain," 1 and was received into the body-guard of Probus. On 
the defeat of Bonosus and Proculus, by a singular coincidence we find 
Constantius, Carus, Dioclesian, and Maximian, walking together in tri- 
umphal procession into the Roman capital, each of whom were subse- 
quently raised to the empire. Constantius afterwards commanded a legion 
as Tribune; and the Emperor Carus, who made him Governor of Dal- 
matia, had some thoughts of naming him his successor, instead of the 
worthless Carinus, his son. After Carinus and Numerican, sons of 
Carus, the empire devolved on Dioclesian, A. D. 284. It was to oppose 
Carinus that Dioclesian first created Maximian Cassar; and afterwards, 
on the death of that Emperor, he saluted him as his own colleague and 
partner in the imperial dignity, A.D. 286. 2 

According to Platina, Constantius obtained a great victory in Gaul, 
under Probus, when several thousand German mercenaries were slain, 
through his bravery in renewing the fight after an unsuccessful engage- 
ment; and, in consequence, peace was restored to the province. It is 
certain that his uncle Claudius fought against the Gauls under Posthumus. 
The same author dates this event in A. D. 281, in which year Maximian 
Herculeus is said to have made himself master of Britain, it being ten 
years after Carausius was slain. We find that Dioclesian sent Maximian 
into Gaul to quell an insurrection, about two years before the creation of 
the Ca3sars (Constantius and Galerius), and that he was afterwards created 
Augustus by Dioclesian. 3 

There seems every likelihood that in this campaign Constantius acted 
in co-operation with Maximian, but there is an error as to the date, as 
the victory of Probus occurred many years earlier, and most likely that 
was the date of Helena's marriage. 

There seems no doubt that it was during the wars of the Empire 
against the usurpers in Gaul that Constantius paid his first visit to 
Britain. 

One of the most formidable enemies of Rome at this period was Carau- 
sius, a man of great bravery, but mean birth, employed by the Empire to 
guard the frontiers of Britain from invasion. Maximian, then associated 
with Dioclesian, who had ordered him to be stationed at Boulogne for 
that purpose, finding he had turned the power invested in him to his own 
advantage, ordered him to be put to death ; but Carausius escaped into 
Britain, where having many followers, he assumed the purple, and caused 
himself to be proclaimed Emperor. Maximian, unable to contend at the 
time until a fleet was prepared, permitted him to continue in his assumed 
power; and at this time Carausius boldly issued a medal, associating 
himself with Dioclesian and Maximian, of which the legend was — "The 
peace of the three Augusti." 4 After several years, Allectus was 
sent to reduce him to dependence on the Empire ; but that traitor, unit- 
ing in his schemes, at first governed in his name, and afterwards betrayed 
aud killed him, and ruled in his own behalf for the space of three years 
as Augustus. The Britons, oppressed by the tyranny of Allectus, placed 

1 John Rous, Colchester Chronicle, Geoffrey of Monmouth. 

2 Butler, Gibbon. 3 Platina. 4 Hoffman's Univ. Lexicon. 



108 ST. HELENA. 

themselves under the command of Asclepiodatus, 1 who, after slaying Al- 
lectus, assumed the supreme power for a time, and in his turn was doomed 
to fall in a contest with Coel, father of St. Helena. 

The deceased Asclepiodatus was a Briton by birth, and by descent 
Duke of Cornwall : 2 he was also a praetorian praefect, and led the Roman 
fleet ; so that both he and his predecessor, Allectus, had assumed the 
supreme power in the Roman name. When, therefore, Coel conquered 
Asclepiodatus, it became necessary to vindicate the Empire, for he was 
not only a Briton, but king by ancient right of descent; and the Romans, 
fearing all authority in the island would cease to exist, despatched Con- 
stantius Chlorus to redeem their tarnished honour, and revive the laurels 
of his country. 

Coel, having openly become, by the train of circumstances just detailed, 
the enemy of Rome, 3 Constantius, on his arrival, proceeded to lay siege 
to the city of Colchester, the capital of his dominions, which, as some 
say, was bravely defended for three years, but at length relieved, upon 
the Roman general entering into a treaty with the King for the hand of 
his daughter, " the fayre Helena." Some relate that Coel, knowing that 
Constantius was "a wise and bold man," 4 and noted for bravery, sent, on 
his own part, ambassadors, to offer peace and submission to the Roman 
power, provided he was allowed to retain his kingdom, on payment of 
the usual tribute. With this Constantius complied, and Coel confirmed 
the treaty, by bestowing on the general the hand of his daughter 5 when 
" Constantius espoused her with much honour." 6 

A romantic, but somewhat improbable, incident has been related of the 
first introduction of Constantius and Helena. It is said that the nurse, 
or " attendant maiden," of the princess, dreading the dangers to which 
her youth and beauty might be exposed, if she were beheld by any of 
the lawless soldiers of the Roman army then besieging the city, disguised 
her young mistress in humble attire as a poor maiden, and concealed her 
in the house of a countryman ; but the precaution was in vain. The 
chance of war conducted Constantius to her retreat, who was so charmed 

1 Bran ap Lyr, or Asclepiodatus, [Rowland's Mona. Antiq.] began to reign 
a. D. 232, and his power lasted thirty years ; he much injured the Roman autho- 
rity, and the news of his death gave great joy at Rome. [Holinshed.] The 
sister of Asclepiodatus was called Bronwen, the White-Necked ; and Harlech 
Castle was anciently called Tor Bronwen, because it was the place of her abode. 
[Pennant's Snowden.] 

Carausius, keeping for his own use the booty he took from the Saxon pirates, 
made Maximian think that he connived at their piracies. The wealth earned by 
his exploits and reputation caused him to be hailed Augustus by the Britons. 
He is said to have built vessels of war, and the many medals struck by him, im- 
pressed with various devices and inscriptions, testify the pomp and splendour of 
his reign. One of the coins of Carausius bears the ensigns of the Eternal City ; 
and, as Sir F. Pal grave remarks, "it is very remarkable that the wolf and the 
twins are copied upon the rude mintage of Ethelbert, the Bretwalda or Emperor 
of Anglo-Saxon Britain." 

a Carew's Survey of Cornwall. 3 John Rous, Morant. 4 John Rous. 

e Geoffrey of Monmouth, John Rous, Warrington, Morant. ° Caxton. 



ST. HELENA. 109 

with Helena, that he carried her off. On discovering, however, much to 
his surprise, that she was the King's daughter, he made her his wife. 

To this important incident, if it really did occur, may be attributed 
some of the stories which have been circulated to the disadvantage of 
Helena, disputing the legality of her union with Constantius. The Col- 
chester Chronicle itself mentions her, in some instances, as "Concubina ;" 
and it becomes rather an important question, to inquire into the exact 
particulars of her union with Constantius. 

The word " concubina" is sometimes used " in boncm partem" for a 
wife as well as a concubine, and, in relation to Helena's tie, simply meant 
a lady of inferior dignity to the daughter of Maximian, whom Constan- 
tius espoused at an after-date. Marianus Scotus, who boldly defends 
Helena, says that she who was " a King's daughter, a Caesar's wife, and 
an Emperor's mother, was no concubine." Two authors, however, have 
stigmatised her memory with this accusation — Julian, the apostate, and 
Zosimus ; of whom the former was an Emperor of Rome, who tried, by 
every means in his power, to subvert the attempts made by Helena and 
her son Constantine to establish the Christian faith ; the latter a Greek 
historian and a pagan, who is noted by ecclesiastical writers, as remark- 
able for the prejudice with which he has treated the Christian Emperors, 
and especially for his severity towards Constantine the Great. 1 St. Am- 
brose, the only respectable witness against Helena, 2 asserts a startling 
fact, that Heleua was first seen by Constantius in his march from Persia 
(when passing through Nicomedia), at an inn in the little town of Dre- 
panum, where he bad fixed his quarters. 3 Had this circumstance been 
known to Zosimus, the declared enemy of Constantine, he would not 
have failed to make use of it. Several other historians say, that the 
union of Constantius with Coel's daughter was not legal. 4 The author 
of the History of Colchester, adopting the record of that city, says : 
" The constant tradition amongst us has always been, that Helena had 
by Constantius her son Constantine born be/ore marriage ; but, soon 
after the birth, he married her, and adopted him." This tradition, pre- 
served in the old British memoirs, is published by Geoffrey of Mon- 
mouth, and other authors of various times and nations, of whom Michael 
Alford, who wrote expressly on the subject, cites no less than seventy. 5 

There are, on the other hand, many who declare Helena to have been 
the lawful wife of Constantius. That elaborate writer, Mr. Butler, in 
his memoir, says, " it is certain she rcas married to him;" 6 and Crevier, 
iu his " Lives of Roman Emperors," speaks thus on this important point: 
" Some, even Christian authors, have disputed the marriage of Constan- 
tius, and thus rendered illegitimate the birth of Constantine. But, in 

1 Aikin's Biography. 3 Crevier. 

3 St. Ambrose and Nicephorus both relate the same story, and the former has 
been copied by several French writers. 

4 Eusebius, Orosius, St. Jerome, Cassiodorus, and Bede. s Morant. 

6 At Naples is still extant an inscription, in which Helena is styled the wife 
of Constantius. In two others, to be seen in Gruter, she is distinguished with 
the title of Augusta, which was never given, as is well known, to a concubine. 

10 



110 ST. HELENA. 

reality, this opinion seems to have had no other foundation 1 than Helena's 
being of greatly inferior rank to her husband. 2 That excepted, every- 
thing conspires to make us look upon her as united to Constantius by a 
lawful alliance; the distinction which Constantine always enjoyed at Dio- 
clesian's court, where he held the first rank next to the Emperor ; the 
very circumstance of his being an hostage, which supposes him to have 
been dear to his father as a son destined to succeed him ; and the great 
encomiums given by panegyrists to the chastity of Constantius, whom his 
son is praised for having imitated, which make it probable that Constan- 
tine was the legitimate son of Constantius Chlorus." Indeed, had any 
further proof of this been wanting, it was furnished afterwards by an ad- 
dress made to Constantine himself, on the occasion of his marriage to 
Fausta, daughter of Maximian, by his learned and elegant, but unknown 
panegyrist, who speaking of Constantius, says : " He had freed the pro- 
vinces of Britain from slavery; you ennobled them by your origin !" 

The enemies of her faith sought thus to disparage her memory ; but 
the fact of a Roman Emperor, as Constantius afterwards became, having 
espoused a British woman, was, in those days, sufficiently extraordinary 
to create comments on the legality of the tie. Gwenissa, daughter of 
Claudius, is not even named by Roman writers, in their disdainful con- 
tempt of her alliance with the British Arviragus ; and Helena's son is 
stigmatized as illegitimate, no doubt from similar reasons. The daughter 
of Coel was held to be a match beneath the dignity of the Roman name ; 
yet it is not impossible that hers was what is yet known as a Tiandfast 
marriage in Scotland, the country from the neighbourhood of which her 
mother came, and that this had given colour to the account of her son's 
illegitimacy. That Helena possessed great attractions, even in the eyes 
of one of the most wise and accomplished senators of Rome, is unques- 
tioned ; and the gentleness and amiability of Constantius in times of 
peace, as renowned as his bravery in war, must have confirmed the attach- 
ment of the island princess. Ample testimonials exist of the tender affec- 
tion which subsisted between them, an affection still more strongly 
cemented by the birth of a son, to be afterwards known as Constantine 
the Great, 3 — a title bestowed on him for his many shining talents and 
great actions. Whether Britain or Dacia 4 was the birthplace of this 

1 Some writers call Helena " obscuri generis." Julius Flavius Dexta calls her 
"a chief woman of Britain," and Mr. Lewis, "a king's daughter," denying the 
assertion of her mean origin. As her father was "master of the horse to the 
Emperor," some have called her a housekeeper's daughter ; from that arose the 
title of "Comes Stab uli, or constable" (Lewis); but others again designate her 
as Stabularia, from her having built a church afterwards over the manger in 
which our Lord was laid at his birth. As well as the encomiums of historians on 
her virtue, she was, according to Polydore Vergil, "a very virtuous woman." 
See other authors, who speak of her in terms which could not have been bestowed 
on one who was exceptionable in one of the first of woman's attributes. 

3 Gibbon dismisses the question by saying, "We are obliged to confess that 
Helena was the daughter of an innkeeper." 

3 Platina's Lives of the Popes. 

4 That Britain was Helena's own birthplace and that of her son Constantine is, 
according to Camden, "what all historians who have written on that subject, ex- 



ST. HELENA. Ill 

prince has been a subject of dispute, literary and national, as well it 
might, for honours are coveted by all; but the general opinion is that 
Constantine was born at Colchester, the native city of Helena, and can 
consequently be claimed as British. This would never have been ques- 
tioned, but that Helena, subsequently to her marriage, at times accompa- 
nied her husband in his foreign campaigns. Nor is it the least convinc- 
ing proof of the legality of Helena's tie with Constantius, that the latter 
entrusted this son, the child of his dearest affections, to the maternal care 
of Helena for his education, knowing that her enlightened and cultivated 
mind fitted her for so arduous a task. 

It is an acknowledged fact, that in the history of nearly all those indi- 
viduals who have attained an eminent distinction for great or good quali- 
ties, the hand of a mother may be traced as implanting the first seeds 
which riper years have matured. How honourable was the appellation 
of Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi ! How high a lustre is still shed on 
the name of Helena — when added to it is that title which speaks volumes 
in her praise — the mother of Constantine the Great ! 

Mr. Morant, in his History of Colchester, says, the city walls were 
most probably built in the times of the Romans. He remarks, " the 
west wall reached as far as St. Helen's Lane. On the north and east 
side the castle was secured by a ditch and rampart of earth. This ram- 
part is thrown up upon a wall that formerly encompassed either the castle 
or the palace of Coel, on the site whereof the castle is built, the buttresses, 
and other parts of which, have been lately discovered." That Colchester 
had strong walls and a castle subsequent to this period, is a fact attested 
by the remains of both, even in the present day. The castle was built 
by Edward the Elder, who also repaired the city walls ; and, says the 
same writer, " if there were any remains of Coel's palace, he might per- 
haps bestow some pains in repairing that too, and making it a kind of 
fortification. The present castle was built after the Norman Conquest." 

As the walls of London are said to have been built by Helena about 
this date, 1 Colchester was very probably fortified at the same time ; for 
Constantius would naturally be anxious to defend his capital against 
the hostile incursions of neighbouring princes. Many writers attribute 
the walls of Colchester to Helena rather than to her father, 2 and it is 

cept Cedrenus and Nicephorus, affirm with one voice." Julius Ferraicus, a 
Christian writer, who lived soon after the death of Constantius, says, in his work 
"On the Error of Profane Religion," that Constantine was born at Tarsus, near 
Nicomedia, in Bithynia, a town of Dacia. Others fix his birth at Naissus, near 
the Dardanelles (Bayle's Dictionary) ; but there the son is confounded with the 
father. (See Camden and Butler.) 

1 Miscellaneous History. The creeks about Colchester and the Mersey Island 
are celebrated for their fiue oyster-beds : this fact alone rendered it a favourite 
residence with the Romans. It was from this people we first learnt the art of 
fattening our oysters in artificial beds, the feeding-pits being first invented about 
ninety years before Christ, and the place where they were first constructed was 
upon the shore of Baiae. Even as early as the reign of Vespasian, the British 
oyster was deemed famous among their luxurious Roman conquerors, and thought 
Worthy to be carried into Italy. [Whittaker; Britton and Brayley.] 

- Stowe, John Rou?. 



112 ST. HELENA. 

beyond question that Constantius, who displayed great talent in architec- 
tural designs, assisted bis consort in the undertaking. Britain is said to 
have owed many of her public works and ornaments to Constantius, who 
invited over arcbitects from abroad to assist in carrying out his plans for 
the advantage of tbe people and security of the Roman government. The 
city of Worcester is said to be of his foundation. 1 It is not, therefore, 
surprising tbat tbe oldest parochial church in the city should bear the 
name of St. Helen. Chlorendon Park, near Sarum, in Wiltshire, received 
from him its name of " Chloren," which, some say, bad been given biui 
by the Britons on account of his wearing a long train which was carried 
after him, this being the toga or robe which betokened his rank as a 
senator of Borne. Chlorendon, now Clarendon Park, says Mr. Kennet, 
"is a park tbe size of which exceeds any park in the kingdom; in the 
north part of which, next Chloren, is a church covered over with ivy, 
called Ivy Church ; and to give credit to a late poet, the park had in it twenty 
groves, each of which was a mile in compass, and it contained a house of 
the king's within it, but long since dilapidated." In the time of Con- 
stantius, a fortification was built by that prince on the side of the down 
near Sarum, of which the ramparts are yet remaining; it bore the name 
of Chloren, like the park in which the Boman King of Britain designed 
to make his own residence. 2 

For some years after Coel's death Constantius remained in Britain, 
adding improvements for the public benefit, and maintaining the security 
of the Boman interest. During this interval be paid the customary tribute 
on his own account to the Boman Emperor. 3 

Several children were born to the Boman King of Britain ; the name 
of the eldest does not appear. A quarrel had arisen between him and 
his younger brother Lucius, and he was unhappily killed by the latter; 
for which Constantius exiled the fratricide from Britain, appointing him 
to dwell in Aquitaine. The penitent prince subsequently embraced the 
Christian faith, and entered tbe Church, first becoming an elder, and 
afterwards bishop. " He built a house of prayer, in which he and his 
followers worshipped God." 4 

1 Green's History of Worcester. 

2 One of the groves in Chlorendon Park yet remains to attest its Roman origin, 
being composed of chesnut. The chesnut was first introduced into Britain from 
Lydia by our Roman conquerors, and, in all likelihood, first by Constantius 
himself. 

3 Lewis. 

4 As this prince's history does not appear again in conjunction with that of 
Constantius and Helena, it may be named here, that Constantine, his brother, 
after his own conversion and accession to the empire, promoted Lucius to several 
ecclesiastical situations ; who finally went into Rhetia, accompanied by his sister 
Emerita, and near the city of Augusta, converted the Curienses to the faith of 
Christ. He was put to death in the Castor Martis, and buried in the city of Au- 
gusta, where his festival was kept on the 3d of December. The truth of these 
particulars is attested by the abbey founded by Prince Lucius, and an ancient 
hymn composed to his honour, entitled "Gaude Lucionem." Emerita, daughter 
of Helen, also was martyred in Trinicastell, where her brother Lucius dwelt. 
[Hermanus Schedelius, Holinshed.] 



ST. HELENA. 113 

During the interval between the death of Coel and Constantius mount- 
ing his throne in Britain, and that in which he succeeded to the Roman 
empire, this great man made more than one campaign abroad; and under 
all the changing vicissitudes of the roving life of Constantius, Helena 
and her first-born, Constantine, were his constant companions. 

The daughter of Coel afterwards accompanied her husband in his cam- 
paigns abroad. We are expressly informed ' that Constantius, who 
" surpassed all others in his endeavours to increase the Roman common- 
wealth, 2 accompanied by his wife, Flavia Helena Augusta, passed out of 
Britain into Germany, attended by an infinite number of Britons, of whom 
it is thought the city Bretta derived its name." 3 Constantius was 
founder of the city of Constantine, in Normandy. The sea adjoining 
Bithynia, from this Empress also, was called Helenapontus, or Helles- 
pont." 4 

A period of reverse, however, was at hand, which was destined to 
throw a deep shade over the mother and son. The details which led to 
this misfortune must necessarily be given. 

About six years after those revolutions in the mighty empire of Rome, 
which had associated Dioclesian and Maximian in the cares of supreme 
power, the joint Emperors agreed to elect two Caosars as their colleagues, 
each of whom, by being appointed ruler over a certain portion of 
dominions belonging to them, should render assistance in preserving 
order over their extended empire. The persons on whom their choice 
fell were Galerius and Constantius, and to the proposed honour about to 
be conferred one only condition was affixed, one calculated to insure the 
dignity of those elected, that of each becoming the adopted son, or rather 
son-in-law, of the two Emperors. It was previously determined by 
Dioclesian and Maximian, that in case of the newly created Caesars being 
already married, they should repudiate their wives, and be left free to 
espouse the imperial brides destined to them. Galerius was originally 
a shepherd of Illyria, but had afterwards become a soldier of Rome ; his 
character was a mixture of cruelty and bravery. His pride at such an 
advancement to fortune made him willingly agree to put away from him 
his wife, for he also was married, and he received the hand of the fair 
Valeria; by which the general who had led his army before the victory, 
became second only in rank to his imperial father-in-law Dioclesian, and 
his colleague. Had his worth been far greater, he might well have been 
proud of receiving the hand of a bride so amiable as the highly gifted 
Valeria, who, as well as her mother, stood high in the estimation of the 
Romans : he dismissed, therefore, without a sigh the partner of his 
humbler fortunes, and took his new honours cheerfully. With Con- 
stantius Chlorus the circumstances were different in all respects. 

The beautiful Flavia Theodora was not indeed the daughter of Maxi- 
mian, but of his wife, the Empress Galeria Valeria Eutropia, by a noble 
Syrian who had died shortly after the birth of this, their only child 
The widow's beauty had attracted many admirers, and amongst others 

1 By Lewis, in Hist, of Britain. a John Rous. 

3 Lewis. 4 John Rous. 

10* H 



114 ST. HELENA. 

Herculeus Maximian, who, though in person more calculated to inspire 
terror than love, was successful in his suit. Eutropia being dazzled by 
the prospect cf an imperial diadem, as soon as her appointed time for 
mourning was at an end, gave her hand to Maximian, and the first link 
was wrought by that step for the future fortunes of Theodora. From 
that time Rome had two reigning Emperors, and two Empresses had pre- 
sided over the female world of Rome, Prisca and Eutropia, entirely dif- 
ferent in character, though so nearly allied in rank and dignity. Prisca, 
wife of Dioclesian, adorned the throne by her virtue and good sense, 
while a Christian by practice as well as precept, she viewed without dis- 
trust or jealousy her beautiful rival Eutropia, who, naturally disposed to 
gaiety and diversion, though she had, at her first elevation, cautiously 
concealed her levity of character, soon yielded herself up to its dictates. 
Entirely indifferent to her husband, she encouraged admirers, and allowed 
the attentions of a handsome Syrian; yet so far was Maximian from 
resenting Eutropia's conduct, that he appeared blind to this intimacy. 
His great desire for an heir who might perpetuate the honours of his 
family was vainly indulged during some years. When, therefore, the 
infant Maxentius was born, in spite of the evil reports of his wife's 
fidelity, he hailed the event with transports of joy, and brought the child 
up with the utmost care and expense as his own son and heir to an em- 
pire. The near relationship of Constantius to his Empress was one 
reason why Maximian had determined to ally him with his daughter-in- 
law; and he had, moreover, stipulated with Dioclesian that he should 
become his successor in the Empire. It was known to both, that the 
person whom their policy selected was already the husband of a British 
woman of royal lineage, whose inheritance he now enjoyed, and by whom 
he had, moreover, become father of several children; but it did not 
enter into their minds to compare the obscure Helena with the brilliant, 
beautiful, and witty Theodora, or weigh in the same balance the petty 
throne of a British State with the imperial diadem of Rome ! 

The struggle was great in the mind of Constantius. Nevertheless the 
imperial will could not be thwarted, though Constantius betrayed an evi- 
dent reluctance to the marriage with Theodora ; he could not forget that 
by divorcing himself from Helena, still tenderly beloved, an ignominious 
stain would be cast on the birth of her young son Constantine, now in 
the bloom of youth and hope. 

It is said that the earnest solicitations of Helena alone decided him ; 
regardless of herself at this trying moment, she was earnest in her ex- 
hortations to her husband to accept a step so calculated to promote his 
present personal advantage. He consented, accordingly, to a separation 
from Helena ; and Dioclesian, by taking every step necessary to give 
publicity to their divorce, furnished the world with the most conclusive 
proof that their marriage had been valid. 1 After every necessary step 
had been taken, Constantius espoused Theodora at Milan, and was forth- 

1 Platina, in his "Lives of the Popes," says, "Constantine was the son of Con- 
stantius by Helena, whom yet he afterwards divorced to gratify Herculeus." 



ST. HELENA. 115 

with invested with the government of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, with the 
enviable title of Cfesar, 1 for which he had sacrificed so much. 

Theodora, shortly after her marriage, returned with him into Britain, 
accompanied by her mother; but while to her he became, and remained 
to the last, a faithful, kind and affectionate husband, his feelings towards 
Helena may be best conceived by the fact of the first act of his newly 
acquired sovereignty being to present his divorced Queen, the mother of 
his son, with the robe of imperial purple, by this means testifying to the 
world, his own sense, that she was in every respect deserving of the high 
rank to which he had been elevated, and which fortune alone had denied 
to her. 

Notwithstanding this empty honour, the fate of Helena was rendered 
still more severe, by Constantine being taken from Britain, and from her 
care, by his father, and placed at the court of Dioclesian, as a hostage for 
his mother's fidelity to Borne. The jealous caution with which, from 
that moment, he was watched in all his movements, proves not only his 
legitimacy, and the regard by which he was esteemed by his parents, but 
the Emperor's fear, lest sooner or later, like Bonosus and Proculus, he 
should assume the sovereign power in Britain, to which his birth by He- 
lena, and right as grandson of Coel, justly entitled him. While still an 
inhabitant of the imperial palace of Dioclesian, the situation of Con- 
stantine was evidently that of a dependent guest and suspected captive, — 
a state of bondage exchanged only for a worse, when upon Constantius 
requesting his son might be permitted to accompany him on his return 
to Britain, the Emperor, to avoid complying with the desire of the father, 
sent the prince to join the army in Persia and Egypt under Galerius; 2 
there the young Briton distinguished himself in the Egyptian war by his 
valour during several severe actions; and there, until his father's ap- 
proaching death recalled him to Britain, he remained, spending the best 
years of his life in the society of those who were enemies of the Christian 
faith, which in after-times he was called upon to protect, and separated 
from the nearest and dearest of his own relatives. 

At this time four imperial courts were established in the Roman world, 
in different directions : that of Dioclesian, who maintained the govern- 

1 Every preliminary being settled, the ceremony of inaugurating the new Caesars 
■was performed. On the first day of March, a.d. 292, Dioclesian having assembled 
the troops in a place about three thousand paces distant from Nicomedia, ascended 
an eminence, presented Galerius to the soldiery, and, with their consent, invested 
him with the purple. The same honour was probably conferred on Constantius 
by Maximian in some one of the cities of Gaul or Italy. 

The two Cassars had every atti-ibute of imperial power but the title of Atigiisf, 
which remained with Dioclesian and Maximian. They had the tribunitian autho- 
rity, the name of Emperors, that of Fathers of their Country, and of the high 
priesthood. Constantius, however, as noblest by birth, though adopted by the 
second of the Augusti, was considered the first of the two Caesars, and on all 
public monuments his name, to which he had added that of Hcrcitlcus, was placed 
before that of Galerius. The anonymous author of Constantine's life, published 
by Valesius, writes in express terms that Constantius divorced Helena to marry 
Theodora, and Eutropius that Constantine was the fruit of an obscure but lawful 
matrimony. 

2 Crevier's Roman Emperors. 



116 ST. HELENA. 

merit of Asia and Africa, and as prior Augustus, had supreme power 
over the rest of the empire ; that of Maximian Herculeus who governed 
Italy and Spain ; of Galerius, who ruled Illyria, Thrace, Macedonia, 
and Syria ; and of Constantius, who had received Gaul and Britain. The 
latter showed his affection for the country which had given birth to He- 
lena and Constantine, by fixing the seat of his government at York, 
whither his bride and the Empress, her mother, had accompanied him. 

There, while the meek and excellent Helena, with pious fortitude, was 
mourning in her lonely widowhood, the loss of a beloved husband, and 
separation from a dearly cherished son, Theodora, at the distance of a 
few hundred miles, enjoyed the sweet intercourse of daily association in 
conjugal affection, which Helena had lost, with one who could not have 
been known without commanding love and reverence. Constantius, in- 
deed, never acquired that surname of " Great," which admiring ages had 
reserved for his son by Helena, but he certainly merited, by his public 
virtues, the appellation of " the Good." Apart from his selfish repudia- 
tion of Helena, he exhibited many excellent qualities, and was looked 
upon as the father and friend of the people. 1 

So mild and moderate was the Roman Caesar in his dominion, that 
during the greater part of his reign tranquillity prevailed in Britain. 
His habits were regular, and he respected virtue. Securely resting on 
the affections of the people, who loved him for his own goodness, and 
anxiety to promote their happiness, Constantius did not consider it 
necessary to exhibit the pomp and ostentation of the Roman Emperors; 
so great an admirer was he of simplicity, that when he did give an en- 
tertainment, he borrowed of his friends plate to furnish his table : one 
of the sayings ascribed to him was this, " that he had rather the riches 
of the state should be dispersed in several hands than locked up in one 
coffer." Dioclesian differed in opinion from Constantius, and blamed 
him for levying so few taxes that his treasury was empty, observing that 
"a prince ought not to be poor." On which we are told that this great 
man sent for^the richest of the inhabitants of York and informed them 
that he was in want of money, and should be glad if they would show 
their attachment by a voluntary gift. His treasury was soon filled ; when 
Constantius remarked to the Roman envoy of Dioclesian that, " he had 
just collected together those things that had long been his;" adding, "I 
left them in the keeping of their possessors, who, as you see, have been 
faithful to their trust." The deputies returned to Rome filled with ad- 
miration, of not only the ruler but the people : and Constantius on his 
part, restored to his subjects the money they had so readily contributed 
for his service. 2 

In no particular did Constantius become more conspicuous than in his 
forbearance towards the Christians during the frightful persecution which 
signalized the reign of Dioclesian. This ancient "reign of terror" began 
in the family of the persecutor himself, and, sad to recount, was first in- 
stigated by a woman. The mother of Galerius had inflamed that prince 
against Christianity, who, in his turn, instigated Dioclesian to extirpate 

' Green, Crevier, Warrington. * Crevier. 



ST. HELENA. 117 

the faith of Christ, and spread the worship of their own gods. The Em- 
peror first ordered bis wife Pisca, and Valeria, the young wife of G-alerius, 
to assist in sacrifices made to idols. Both ladies had received the baptis- 
mal rite, and had been encouraged by their own learning and genius to 
seek the society of those orators and writers who explained their new 
faith. But they knew that if they disobeyed the command of the Empe- 
ror, whatever his assumed regard for them, they must expect to die. 
Love of life, weakness of faith, or easiness of temper, led them, therefore, 
in the end, to worship those idols their hearts refused to acknowledge ; a 
weakness in such high examples which many readily followed, while 
others stood forth in defence of their faith, and, to the number of 
17,000, fell victims for conscience, sake. The church in Nicodemia was 
levelled with the ground, and the very next day an edict appeared, de- 
priving all Christians of their rank, and of the benefit of the laws, and 
exposing them to torture. 1 

The persecution, which raged at that time, spread throughout the Ro- 
man world, two provinces alone excepted; these were Gaul and Britain, 
which escaped by the timely interposition of the merciful and humane 
Constantius. 2 That prince, though compelled with reluctance to demolish 
the Christian churches throughout his dominions, 3 preserved the persons 
of the followers of Christ from harm ; yet he could not prevent some of 
the atrocities which marked this period of bloodshed. Among the Brit- 
ish martyrs were Aaron and Julius, A. D. 303, and St. Alban, who are 
said to have suffered cruel torments : a church was afterwards raised 4 to 
the memory of each. This persecution endured for two years and two 
months throughout the Roman Empire, when many persons of both 
sexes suffered death ; 5 it was happily terminated in A. D. 305 by Con- 
stantius becoming Emperor. To try the hearts of his courtiers, Constan- 
tius proclaimed that all those who forsook the worship of the true God, 
should be banished the court, and that heavy penalties and fines should 
be imposed upon them ; thereupon, all those who were base enough to 
serve him only for their own views went away, forsook the true God, 
and worshipped idols, by which means he found out who were the true 
servants of God, and whom he intended to make his own, thinking rightly 
that such as were faithful to their God, would prove so to him. 

Did the inhabitants of Britain, as some have asserted, owe this inter- 
position of Constantius in favor of Christianity to his own belief in its 
doctrines, or to his recollection that it was the religion of his divorced 
Queen, St. Helena ? We have high authority for the fact, that Constan- 
tius was distinguished for Christian piety, and had been the founder of 
a metropolitan see at York. Some say that Constantius had received the 
faith and rite of baptism in the seventh year of his empire, Pope Syl- 

1 Milner. s Ibid. 

3 Eusebius. Amongst others, the splendid minster of Lucius, at Westminster, 
was levelled to the ground at this epoch. 

4 In the city of Caerleon, where they were interred. A choir of nuns graced 
the church of Julius, and a famous order of canons that of Aaron. 

5 Kippis, Milner. 



118 ST. HELENA. 

vester officiating in the solemn ceremony; and we are assured that it was 
the constant desire of Helena to advance the Christian faith, which first 
stimulated this Emperor to favour the Christians. If it be true that 
Helena was herself a professor of its doctrines prior to her divorce, it 
must have deeply affected the heart of Constantius to behold her, on 
that painful separation, so entirely resign herself by its influence to her 
hopeless fate. The widowed wife and childless mother had submitted to 
her lot in so meek and uncomplaining a manner, as to prove her just 
claim to the title of Christian, and her example must have had its effect. 
Released from the matrimonial tie, she sought not again to enter into the 
married state, and most probably the reflections in this season of bitter 
trial in the life of Helena, laid the foundation for her own future great- 
ness as well as that of her son. 

In memory of this period of suffering, the African marigold has been 
placed in our floral calendars on St. Helena's day, August 18th, as it is 
a flower betokening grief, or distress of mind, and is thus appropriately 
emblematical of the feelings of the deserted Empress. 1 There is also a 
sentiment attached to the blossoms of the flower called helenium, which 
resemble small suns, of a beautiful yellow colour, and is said to have 
been produced by "the tears of Helena." 

It is not positively certain that Helena 2 or Constantius were Christians 
at this period, though there seems some foundation for the supposition. 
That Christianity had obtained a footing in Britain long ere this, has 
been shown, and that it was professed even in the family of Constantius 
himself is equally certain. 

During the residence of the Emperor at York, the Empress Theodora 
had borne him six children, all of whom were educated in Britain ; the 
sons were Dalmatius, Julius Constantius, and Annibalianus : the daugh- 
ters were Constantia, Anastasia, and Eutropia. To all Constantius proved 
a kind and tender parent, but the first of these royal princesses, Con- 
stantia, requires some especial notice, as her after-history becomes much 
connected with that of Helena and her own half-brother, Constantine. 

At a very early age, Constantia studied the works of Arian, and 
became from the first his sincere disciple, though he had not then acquired 
any name, and at a subsequent time she was his powerful patron. Con- 
stantia was influenced in adopting the sect of Arianism, being already a 
Christian, by her friend and preceptor, Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia. 
She was singularly steady in her opinions, once formed, nor could she be 
won over to those of others ; but her peculiar views caused afterwards 
much disadvantage and inconvenience to a church which required unity 

' The African marigold blossoms all the year round, and was, therefore, termed 
by the Romans the flower of the calends — in other words, of all the months. 
The flowers are said always to turn towards the sun, and to follow his course 
from east to west. Thus Marguerite of Navarre, the maternal grandmother of 
Henry IV. chose it for her device, with the motto, " Je ne veux suivre que lui 
seul," intimating that all her thoughts and affections were turned towards 
Heaven, as the marigold towards the sun. See "Language of Flowers." 

a Baleus calls Helena the most Christian mother of Constantine, and Lluyd tells 
us that the young prince was brought up by her in the Christian faith, which she 
herself professed. 



ST. HELENA. 119 

in its several members for its support. 1 The princess was endowed with 
rare beauty, and possessed also " masculine courage, discretion, prudence 
and virtue; she had a judgment which penetrated the most solid affairs, 
much eloquence, and unshaken firmness and resolution, and a happy art 
of reconciling any differences which arose among those who surrounded 
her." Constantia's character and profession of faith might have caused 
Constantius to show leniency to the Christians, even were he not himself 
a believer in the sacred truths of religion. 

It was not long after this cruel persecution that Constantius was called 
from his earthly dominions. He was seized with his last illness while 
occupied in an expedition against the Picts and Scots, and finding his 
life drawing towards its close, the Emperor's heart naturally yearned to 
behold the son who had been snatched from him just on his arrival at 
manhood. A messenger conveyed to Galerius the request of his dying 
colleague, that he would send home his son as soon as possible. 2 Gralerius 
delayed, as long as he could, the fulfilment of this duty. For a long 
time past he had regarded the " son of Helena " with the eyes of a jealous 
rival, and, seeking his destruction, had on various occasions placed him 
in positions of certain peril. Constantine's life had been risked against 
the Sarmatians in war, but he returned victorious to Galerius, carrying 
with him the enemy's king as his prisoner; and the Emperor regretted 
the conquest which spared the British prince. On another occasion, 
Constantine, ardently desirous to win renown and honour, undertook, by 
persuasion of Galerius, to fight with a wild beast in the theatre. The 
spectators, in wonder, beheld the animal slain by the youthful prince; 
but Galerius smiled, for he meant yet further to ensnare him into danger. 3 
At last, however, the prince perceived his aim, and resolved to escape 
from court to Britain, and join his father. At this juncture, the news 
of the dangerous illness of Constantius reached him. Surrounded by 
the spies of Galerius, who watched his slightest movement, he made his 
escape by stealth. His perils were numerous, and in order to evade pur- 
suit and retard the speed of those who sought to overtake him in his 
flight, Constantine was forced to resort to the expedient of maiming at 
every post the horses which were not necessary for his flight — a cruel 
resource, yet, under his circumstances, excusable, for he was no doubt 
flying for his life, besides his desire to behold his dying parent. 4 In this 
way he succeeded in reachiug Britain, where he arrived only a few days 
before his father breathed his last, and on proceeding to York, had the 
melancholy satisfaction of beholding once more his mother, from whom 
he had been so long and painfully divided. 5 

Constantius, during the brief interval which intervened between the 
arrival of Constantine and his own death, was requested to name his suc- 
cessor in the Empire, to which entreaty he gave the following memorable 
reply : " That he would have none other than the most pious Constan- 
tine," thus setting aside the claims of the children of Theodora in favour 
of his son by Helena, and giving a final proof of his attachment to his 

1 Lives of the Empresses. 2 Milner. 3 Lewis. 

4 Gibbon calls this "a foolish story." s Milner, Lingard. 



120 ST. HELENA. 

first wife, and the legality of her union with him. His decision was 
received with approbation by the army, and the purple robe was thrown 
over the prince's shoulders, who on this occasion is said to have shed 
tears, and clapped spurs to his horse, to escape the importunities of all 
those who pressed around him to proffer the imperial dignity. 1 How dif- 
ferent had been the conduct of Caracalla, another Emperor's son, on a 
similar occasion ! 

A. D. 306, Constantius died, fourteen years after he had become Caesar, 
having enjoyed the dignity of Emperor the two last years of his life; 2 
his memory was held in such esteem, that he was afterwards deified. 
His last mortal remains were deposited at York, in the Church of St. 
Helen, in Aldwark. This building stood near the walls of the city, but 
there are no remains in the present day. Some suppose that it was 
erected by Constantine on his conversion, over the remains of his father, 
especially as the name of St. Helen is affixed to the building. The main 
street, which now bears the name of Aldwark, to mark its antiquity, 3 was 
so designated by the Saxons; it adjoins St. Anthony's Hall, and the Ro- 
man Imperial Palace, described in the life of the Empress Julia, is sup- 
posed to have extended from Christ Church to this street. 4 Camden 
relates that the remains of Constantius were discovered in a vaulted tomb 
within a little chapel at York, and adds " on the authority of several in- 
telligent inhabitants of that city, that when this vault, which had by 
tradition been marked as the place where the ashes of Constantius re- 
posed, was opened, a lamp was found burning within it, but which was 
soon extinguished by the communication of the air; for it was a Roman 
custom to preserve lights in their sepulchres for a long time, which art 
they accomplished by the oylines of gold resolved into a liquid substance." 

Helena, who had passed the prime of life, for she was now in her fifty- 
fourth year, in a quiet obscurity, at a distance from those whose presence 
would have made life so dear, was now destined to emerge from her soli- 
tude, and assume an eminent position in the vast theatre of the world. 
It was she who had implanted the first principles of virtue in the bosom 
of the great Constantine, who had set in motion all those secret springs 
which were to bear him onwards to glory and greatness, and she was 
called upon in her own person to direct the career of that victorious 
child. 

Without ambition for herself — for that failing had never formed part 
of Helena's character — she had none of those vain-glorious emotions 
which usually animated her contemporaries; all her feelings were ab- 
sorbed in one, that of ennobling the name of the beloved son who had 
' blessed her too brief union with Constantius, and who in spite of diffi- 
culties had inherited his imperial destiny. To guard that son from the 

I * Leigh's Choice Observations. 

s In 1283, when preparations were making for the erection of Caernarvon Cas- 
tle, a body, supposed to be that of Constantius, was discovered there. King 
Edward gave orders that it should be honourably re-interred in the Church of 
St. Publicius, a descendant of the family of Helena. — Matthew, AVest, Pennant. 

8 Aid implies old, and wark a building. 

* Allen's York ; Milner's Church History ; Green's History of Worcester. 



ST. HELENA. 121 

perils of his high station, to assist him by her maternal advice, derived 
from the many years' experience of her own royal sway, and iu her late 
humbler position, was the coveted duty of this exalted and estimable 
woman, and worthily did she acquit herself of the important office. If 
Helena did not witness either the arrival of her long-lost son, or the last 
moments of her departing Constantius, it is certain that no sooner was 
Constantine recognised successor to the Empire, than she repaired to the 
Imperial Court of York ; and many places in that city and the north of 
England yet remain to attest by her name that there she was once 
present. 

Theodora, her mother, and her children, were now become the guests 
of Constantine; they continued in the Imperial Palace, and under this 
painfully distressing change in their destiny, beheld nothing in the con- 
duct of the new Emperor, or of his amiable mother, which could in any 
way remind them, by the smallest neglect or humiliation, of the bitter 
loss they had sustained. On the removal of the court from Britain, they 
accompanied it into Italy. 

Not less difficult and trying was this sudden change of situation for 
Helena, than was that in which she had been divided for ever from her 
husband. She was now called upon daily to meet and associate, in the 
bonds of affection and kindliness of spirit, with the widowed Empress 
who had supplied her place on the throne of Constantius ; and to guard 
over and protect her aud her children, as the nearest ties of one so dear 
to herself. This hard duty, accompanied with all the recollections of the 
departed Constantius, Helena achieved. She had exchanged the dignity 
of Queen of the Britons for the more elevated rank of Empress-Mother 
of Borne. The dutiful Constantine, now that he had attained the sum- 
mit of grandeur, desired only to make use of his new power to serve 
that mother whom he had always loved and reverenced. He publicly 
testified the immense debt of gratitude he felt was due to her long-tried 
affection by raising her at once to all the dignities of a Boman empress. 
He caused her to be proclaimed Augusta in his armies, introducing her 
to the soldiery with more distinction than Agrippina had ever enjoyed j 1 
Helena not having had the dignity of Augusta during the lifetime of 
Constantius, 2 it was bestowed on her by her son, as though he desired to 
compensate her for the deprivation of an honour by her divorce, which 
she had been entitled to. He likewise caused medals to be struck, bear- 
ing her effigy, with her names, Flavia Julia Helena. One of these 
coins has, on one side, a female standing with a branch in her right hand, 
and the inscription "securitas Bepublicoe," and on the other side, the 
words Flavia Julia Helena, round the head of the Empress. 

Ancient inscriptions style Helena " Venerabilis et pietissima Au- 
gusta," 3 and some of these give to her the imperial attributes. 4 

Many stones yet extant bear the attributes of Empresses given to 
Helena, such as " Venerabilis Domina," " Clarentissima," " Charissima," 
and " Domina nostra." 5 Besides these dignities, Constantine admitted 

1 Butler. a Seidell's Titles of Honour. 

3 Green's Worcester. ' Selden. ' Butler 

11 



122 ST. HELENA. 

Helena to council, as Alexander Severua had formerly done his mother 
Mammseaj and thus was the Empress-Mother enabled to confer on her 
country a train of benefits almost unexampled, while the hitherto enslaved 
island of Britain, under its new rulers, emerged from barbarism, and 
began to taste the many advantages of civil and religious freedom. It 
was to the influence of Helena, at this period, that Britain was indebted 
for some of its greatest and most durable benefits; for not only had Con- 
stantino admitted her into his councils, but he gave her power to carry 
out all she might desire to achieve for her country, by placing her at the 
same time at the head of his exchequer. In doing so he paid the highest 
compliment to her discretion, as monetary resources were at that moment 
in the greatest requisition, and Helena did not act in a manner to make 
the Emperor regret his confidence had been so reposed. 1 

From the period of the death of Constantius, to that in which Maxen- 
tius was defeated near Rome by Constantine, there was an interval of 
six years. This period was doubtless occupied in adjusting the affairs 
of Gaul and Britain, over which Constantius had especially ruled. 

Leland speaks of the City of London as enlarged and fortified by 
Constantine at the request of Helena. 2 The manner in which the walls 
were built was discovered at a later date, in laying the foundation for a 
new wall. 3 They are thus described by William Fitz Stephen, who died 
in 1171 : "The wall of this city is high and great, continued with seven 
gates, which are made double, and on the north distinguished with turrets 
by spaces; likewise on the south, London hath been enclosed with walls 
and towers, but the large river of Thames, well stored with fish, and in 
which the tide ebbs and flows, by continuance of time hath washed, worn 
away, and cast down those walls." 

The Saxon Chronicle confirms the fact of the existence of these walls, 
by saying that " in 1052, Earl Godwin, with his navy, passed along the 
southern side of the river, and so assailed the walls." 

While these great works progressed, Constantine made every arrange- 
ment for the public security aud welfare of Britain. He divided the 
country into five provinces, named Britannia Prima, Valentia, Britannia 
Secunda, Flavia Caesariensis, and Maxima Coesariensis. 4 

Constantine appointed that each of these five provinces should be ruled 
by a vicegerent, five rectors, two consulars, and three presidents ; but 
from that time till the reign of Valentinian, no account is given of the 

1 Some money of Constantine is said to have been discovered in the walls of 
the ancient city of Allcester. — Kennet. 

2 Lewis, Hist, of Britain. 3 Stowe. 
• Holinshed. The countries they comprehended were as follows : — 

The 1st province, or Britannia Prima, the east part of England, from the Trent 
to the Tweed. 

2nd, Valentia, [or Valentina,] the left side, from Liverpool to Cockermouth. 

3rd, Britannia Secunda, that part of the isle which lay south, between the 
Trent and the Thames. 

4th, Flavia Cacsariensis, all that country between Dover and the Severn, in- 
cluding Cornwall and Wales. 

6th, Maxima Coesariensis, or Scotland. 



ST. HELENA. 123 

manner in which the government was conducted after the son of Helena 
quitted his native country. 

In early youth Constantino had allied himself to Minervina, supposed 
to be a British lady, by whom he had a son named Crispus. lie after- 
wards had espoused Fausta, 1 daughter of Maximian, the enemy of Chris- 
tianity, a lady who was the half-sister of Theodora, the Empress of Con- 
stantius. Maximian had contracted this alliance for Fausta from motives 
of state policy. Twice driven from his throne by the unworthy Maxen- 
tius, his adopted son, Maximian took refuge with Constantine, who at 
that time was residing in the palace of Treves. 2 Though the Emperor 
could scarcely forget a revolt which Maximian had formerly kindled 
against him at Marseilles, he received him with the utmost generosity 
and clemency. Maximian repaid this by raising a new plot against his 
life. He endeavoured to gain over his daughter Fausta to send away the 
Emperor's guards during the night, and to leave his apartment open to 
him. Presents, prayers, promises, and threats were employed to seduce 
the unhappy Empress. If she betrayed her father by a word, she knew 
it would be to die; if silent, her husband's life was the price at stake. 
At last she promised obedience to Maximian, but conjugal affection led 
her to discover his secret to Constantine. The Emperor could not believe 
his aged father-in-law capable of such treachery, and sacrificed the life 
of an eunuch to prove the fact. The unfortunate victim, of a class held 
in no esteem except as serviceable to their master, was placed on the 
couch of Constantine, who dismissing his guards, concealed himself in 
the chamber. In the dead of night, Maximian entered, and finding the 
passage cleared for his approach advanced to the bed, when he buried 
his poniard repeatedly in the slave's bosom, exclaiming, "My enemy is 
dead. I am master of the Empire!" The sight of Constantine changed 
his joy to despair; he beheld with horror the threatening countenance 
of his supposed victim : the day of grace was past ; Constantine pardoned 
him not again, and he fell a sacrifice to his insatiable ambition ! 3 

This was the first 4 who fell by the death-doom of one merciful by 
nature, but who gained sternness and severity by the circumstances of 
his own fortunes. In Maximian, the colleague of his late imperial father, 
Constantine destroyed the father-in-law of Theodora, the husband of Eu- 
tropia, the father of Fausta, and grandfather of his own sons. It seemed 
a horrible alternative, yet certainly no safety on a throne could have been 
enjoyed, had Maximian continued to exist. 

1 Three sons of Constantine by the Empress Fausta were afterwards placed 
over the provinces. Constantine, the eldest, over the Gauls, Spain, and Britain ; 
Constans over Illyricum, Italy, and Africa ; and Constantius over the East. 

Coustans was founder of Caer Segont, which was also called Hengaer, the old 
town which stood by the site of the modern Caernarvon. — Kennett. 

3 The city of Treves was honoured with the title of Augusta ; it was a Roman 
colony, and the residence of several emperors, who had the care of superintend- 
ing their possessions in Gaul. 

3 Hist. Universelle. 

4 At a later period Licinius, the husband of Constantia, his sister, and her son, 
were put to death by him ; but the fate of Licinius was deserved, when his crimes 
towards the wife and daughter of Dioclesian are considered. — See Gibbon. 



124 ST. HELENA. 

Perhaps this conspiracy against the life of Constantine alarmed tho 
maternal feelings of Helena, and actuated her conduct in future towards 
the sons of Theodora. These three young princes, Dalmatius, Constan- 
tius, and Annibalianus, had been promoted by Constantine to the order 
of nobility, out of respect to their being of his family ; in consequence 
of which they all wore a purple robe with golden guards. 1 

Helena, who always preserved her authority over her son, and is said to 
have rarely exerted it in a bad cause, showed much wisdom and prudence 
by the care she took to prevent the rise of these princes, brothers of Con- 
stantine, who were of noble birth by their descent from Maximian. There 
were no instances of the sons of Emperors remaining in a private station, 
and Helena feared that though in reality they had no right to the empire, 
which was elective, they might perhaps, urged by ambition or by evil 
counsellors, forget their allegiance to Constantine, and disturb the tran- 
quillity of the State. The Emperor Constantius had desired that his 
dominions, undivided, should devolve on her own son, and the army had 
sanctioned his choice. Helena had no share in this arrangement, which, 
however, being made when the three brothers of Constantine were still 
minors, she resolved to maintain, and by her prudent precautions effected 
her purpose. She kept them always at a distance from the court and 
from employments, sometimes at Toulouse, at other times at Treves, or 
in some other distant city, and last of all at Corinth, where she fixed 
their abode. 2 Julian the Apostate, afterwards Emperor of Rome, already 
alluded to as having stigmatized Helena's marriage as illegal, who was 
himself the descendant of Theodora, designates the conduct of Helena in 
this instance as " the cunning artifice of a stepmother;" but Tillemont 
esteems it good policy, founded on the opinion that they had no right 
whatever to the throne; and indeed the sequel of Constantine's family 
history, which will be given hereafter, proves how prudent were the pre- 
cautions of Helena. 

As we do not hear more of Eutropia and Theodora, it would seem not 
unlikely that after the death of Maximian, and the separation of these 
princes from the court, they quitted the palace of Constantine for the 
more calm retreat which their children were permitted to enjoy at a dis- 
tance from the crimes and ambition which pervaded the atmosphere of 
the Roman State. 3 

At the time Constantine was proclaimed in Britain, Maxentius, son of 
Maximian, invaded Italy, 5 where he was now exercising great tyranny 
over the Romans in the city of the Emperors ; and many of those who 
were exiled sought protection in Britain at the court of Constantine, 

1 Zosimus. 2 Crevier's Hist, of the Roman Emperors. 

3 Helena, in quitting Britain, had, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, been 
accompanied by the three brothers of King Coel, her uncles, Llewelyn, Trehearne, 
and Marius. Llewelyn, at a subsequent period, espoused a Roman lady, by 
whom he became father of Maxen Wledig, or the Illustrious, of whom it will 
be necessary to speak in another part of this work, as the husband of Helena ap 
Eudda. 

4 Though Constantine had been made Emperor of the West, the praetorian 
guards had, in a tumultuary manner, declared Maxentius Augustus at Rome. 
JTlatina.] 



ST. HELENA 



125 



whom they stirred up by their representations to march to Rome arid 
oppose the tyrant. Among other acts of oppression of which Maxentius 
recently had been guilty, was that of putting to death St. Katherine, a 
near relative of Constantine, at Alexandria, whose sacred body, adds our 
authority, "was miraculously carried by angels from Alexandria to 
Mount Sinai." 

Coustantine, having assembled a powerful army, marched against 
Maxentius. On arriving in the neighbourhood of Rome, the Emperor 
encamped over against the bridge Milvius, now called Ponte Mole, two 
miles distant from the city. The enemy's forces were superior in point 
of numbers, but Constantine earnestly implored the protection of the one 
supreme God. After his prayer, a little before noon, as he was travers- 
ing the country with a part of his army, he beheld in the sky a cross of 
light, with this inscription, " By this shalt thou conquer." The follow- 
ing night he is said to have seen our Saviour, who commanded him to 
make a representation of the cross which he had seen, and use it in 
battle. The Emperor obeyed the Divine command, and thus as early as 
the fourth century originated the famous banner called Labarum 1 or 
Standard of the Cross, which wholly displaced the ancient standard of 
Rome. 2 

Maxentius was defeated, and by the breaking of a bridge of boats, 
which by his own command had been thrown over the Tiber, was 
drowned in his flight. 3 

To commemorate these events, in which the heart of the Empress- 
Mother must have deeply shared, the senate afterwards caused a trium- 
phal arch to be built to the honour of their pious and valiant Emperor. 
This arch is yet to be seen in Rome. A statue was also erected to Con- 
stantine in one of the public places of the city, where he appeared holding 
a large cross in his hand, instead of a lance, and by his own order the 
pedestal bore the following inscription : — " By this salutary sign, the true 
mark of courage, I have delivered you from the yoke of tyranny, and re- 
stored the senate and people of Rome to their ancient glory." 4 

Constantine the Great was the first who displayed a cross in a shield 
on the imperial arms, on his helmet, and on the shields of his soldiers. 5 

Whether Helena was converted to Christianity before her son, 6 as some 

1 Butler's Lives. The Roman custom of carrying a banner called Labarum, in 
Tertullian's time, in their armies, gave rise to the pi\ictice of banners being car- 
ried in public processions. The Labarum was worshipped both by commanders 
and private men. On it was painted an eagle, the ensign and the tutelary bird 
of the empire. From hence it is, that ensigns are called sacred in processions, 
and that they are saluted, and the effigies of saints of both sexes are painted 
thereon, because they are the patrons of parishes. — Roma Antiqua, p. 76. 

a Lesly, Bishop of Ross, reports a similar story respecting Hungus, King of the 
Picts. He states, that the night before the battle between Athelstan, King of 
Northumberland, and Hungus, King of the Picts, a bright cross, in form of that 
whereon St. Andrew, the tutelar saint of Scotland, suffered martyrdom, appeared 
to Hungus ; who, having gained the victory, ever after bore the figure of that 
cross on his banners. 

3 Butler, John Rous. • Butler. 5 Clavis Calendaria. 

6 St. Ambrose says that Constantine was happy in being born of such a mother 
11* 



126 ST. HELENA. 

authors assert, or not till after the appearance of the miraculous cross 
■which Constantine beheld, she received the right of baptism from the 
hands of Sylvester, Bishop of Rome, who on this occasion was endowed 
with imperial dignities which were confirmed to his descendants. 

A story is on record concerning the conversion of Constantine, which 
states, that when the Emperor was, while in the prime of age, afflicted 
with the leprosy, and his recovery despaired of, Helena offered up prayers 
for her son's restoration to health. 1 Grower, who introduces this circum- 
stance in his " Confessio Amantis," says that every remedy resorted to 
having failed the physicians of the Emperor ordered him to be bathed in 
the blood of children whose ages were under seven years. The neces- 
sary number of infant victims was collected, but Constautine's mercy 
prevailed ; he grieved to think of the lives about to be sacrificed — 

" By cause of him alone. 
He sawe also the greate mone, 
Of that the mothers were ungladde, 
And of the wo the children made ; 
"Whereof that his harte tendreth 
And such pitie within engendreth, 
That him was lever for to chese 
His own bodie for to lese, 
Than see so great a mourdre wrought 
Upon the bloude, which gilteth nought. — Book ii. 

The children and their mothers were remanded home, the latter prais- 
ing and blessing Constantine, aud praying for his restoration to health. 
The Emperor, on the other hand, having no hope on earth, commended 
himself to God alone. The same night Peter and Paul are said to have 
appeared to him in his sleep, and ordered him to send to Mount Celion 
for Sylvester and his clergy, who would cure him of his disease ; " at the 
same time they commended his charity towards the children." 

Constantine, as on a former occasion, was obedient to the order received 
in his vision. Sylvester obeyed the summons with joy, and seized the 
opportunity to preach the faith to the master of the world. Constantine 
requested to be baptised, and for this purpose the same vessel was em- 
ployed which had been prepared for the blood of the victims. On being 
immersed in the holy water, " the scales of his body fell off, till nothing 
remained of his great malady, his body as well as his soul being cleansed 
and purified." 

Such is the legend : we are further informed by the poet, that the Em- 
peror sent for his mother, " Queen Eleyne •" and that, by their joint per- 
suasions and influence, the Roman people were admitted to the rite of 

as St. Helena, who found for him a divine help which filled him with courage, 
and placed him above the greatest perils. A truly great woman, who had it in 
her power to bestow on the master of the Empire something beyond all that he 
had already. Crevier, on the contrary, says that Helena had long been engaged 
,n the superstitions of idolatry, and that it was by the conversion of her son that 
God thought proper to bring her to Christianity, which she embraced with a 
sincere heart and enlightened mind. 
' Lewis's Hist, of Great Britain. 



ST. HELENA. 127 

baptism,' " of which their most holy Empress had previously set them 
the example." 

"This emperour, which hele hath found, 

Within Rome anone let founde 

Two churches, which he did make 

For Peter and for Paules sake ; 

Of whom he had a vision, 

And yafe thereto possession 

Of lordeshippe, and of worldes good." 2 

Platina 3 tells us that Constantine left Constantinople for the hot baths, 
for the recovery of his health; 4 but discredits the story of the Emperor's 
being afflicted with leprosy, and says, it is not mentioned by any Chris- 
tian or profane author. 

"Whether the story was founded on fact, or not, Pope Adrian L, in after 
times, asserted, in support of his supremacy, that Constantine the Great, 
the first Christian Emperor, having been converted to the truth, baptised 
by Pope St. Sylvester, and cured of his leprosy, had, out of gratitude, 
when he founded his new capital, Constantinople, freely resigned Rome, 
and made to the Popes the absolute and eternal donation of the Sovereignty 
of Italy and of the Western Empire. 

In the same year that Constantine vanquished Maxentius, he is said to 
have also bestowed on the Bishop of Home the Imperial Lateran Palace, 
A. D. 312, in which, in the following year, 313, Pope Melchiades held a 
synod in the apartment of the Empress Fausta, wife of Constantine. It 
is interesting and curious to discover the Popes in possession of this edi- 
fice as early as the fourth century ; and in later times to hear the famous 
Pope Gregory comparing Bertha, Queen of Ethelbert, the Kentish mon- 
arch, to the pious St. Helena, because, like her, she yielded up her royal 
abode for the service of the papal missionaries. 

The baptismal font of Constantine, which was preserved in the Palace 
of the Lateran, having become nearly ruinous, was restored and beautified 
by Leo X. 

" The hall of Constantine, in the Vatican, one of the last works of the 
immortal Raphael, was commenced under the same Pontiff (Leo X), and 
terminated after his death, and that of the artist, by Giulio Romano and 
Gian Francesio Penni. This apartment is adorned by four grand compo- 
sitions, each of the series occupying one side of the chamber. The first 
represents the Vision of Constantine, with the miraculous appearance of 
the Holy Cross; the second and largest is the Victory of Constantine 
over Maxentius; the third, the Baptism of the Emperor; and the fourth, 
the Donation made by him to the Church. On the basement of this 
apartment are represented the figures of several of the Roman Pontiffs, 
who had been distinguished by superior piety; each of whom appears to 
be seated in a niche, and to be attended by two angels, who support his 
mantle, or assist in holding the book which he is employed in reading. 
Among them are the sainted Pontiffs, Pietro Damaso, Leo, Gregory, and 

1 The painting of the Baptism of Constantine, by Christoforo Roncalli, adorns 
the Lateran Palace. 

2 Gower's Confessio Amantis, book 2. 3 And Socrates. * Butler's Lives. 



128 ST. HELENA. 

Sylvester. On the base of a column, at the foot of the picture which 
represents the baptism of Constantine, is inscribed, " Clemens VII, 
Pont. Max. A. Leone X. coeptum consumavit." 1 

Constantine first beheld Home on the occasion of his triumph over 
Maxentius : at that time he made some stay in the capital; but he never 
fixed his residence there ; and from that time to the twentieth year of his 
reign, we always find him, by the dates of his laws, and by other histori- 
cal monuments, both in war and in peace, either at Milan, at Aries, or in 
Illyricum, while his visits to Rome 2 appear to have been rare. Notwith- 
standing which, in that city remains are yet found which testify his affec- 
tion for his excellent mother. 

The ruins, also, of the private baths, built with great magnificence in 
Rome, for Helena's use, by her son, still bear the name of Thermae S. 
Helenoe. 3 These baths, in the Villa Ursinia, are still among the objects 
of interest shown to strangers, being almost entire : they bear at the en- 
trance the following inscription : — 

"D. N. Helena Yen. Aug. Mat. 

Aria. Beatiss 

Thermae .... Istria;" 

" which (says Montfaucon) we have therefore set down, because other- 
wise delivered by others. On the left hand going out, is the Neustriaa 
way, and on the right the Labicane, leading to the tomb of the Empress 
Helen." 

Several new cities were afterwards founded by Constantine, in honour 
of his mother, to which he gave the name of Helenopolis. One of these 
was situated in Palestine. Another was Drepanum, in Nicomedia, which 
he beautified and fortified, exempting it from all taxes : this town was 
favoured more particularly from the regard which the Empress herself 
entertained for it, from the circumstance of St. Lucian the Martyr having 
been interred there; she herself assisted in commemorating the spot. 
"This was named Helenopolis, as well as other cities, in her honour, and 
not because she was born there, as some have erroneously supposed." 4 
The city where Constans was slain was called the City of Helena. 

The grand object of Constantine and of Helena, from the time of the 
victory over Maxentius, seems to have been the propagation of the Chris- 
tian faith. The Empress instigated her son to piety and alms-deeds ; 5 and 
after three hundred years had rolled away, under the domination of Em- 
perors hostile to the creed of Jesus, its followers beheld one of British 
birth arise as a protector to the rights of their Church. They now first 
experienced peace and quietness, and to become a Christian was legal. 
Indemnity was made to those professors who had been injured, and the 
ministers of God were treated with honour. 6 

The heads of the several provinces belonging to Rome were directed to 
promote the Gospel; and though, like Constantius, the Emperor would 
not oblige them to profess Christianity, he forbade them, by their prefects, 
to sacrifice to idols. Even beyond the bounds of his own Empire, Con- 

1 Roscoe. 2 Crevier. 3 Butler's Lives. 

4 Proeopius. 5 Butler. 6 Milner, Baleus. 



ST. HELENA. 129 

stantine still sought to promote the good cause ; for, in a letter to Sapor, 
King of Persia, he zealously pleads for the Christians of his dominions. 
He destroys idol temples, prohibits impious pagan rites, puts an end to 
the savage fights of gladiators, stands up with respectful- silence to hear 
the sermon of Eusebius, Bishop of Ccesarea, who furnishes him with the 
volumes of the Scriptures, for the use of the churches ; he orders the 
observation of the festivals of martyrs, has prayers and reading of the 
Scriptures at his court, dedicates churches with great solemnity, makes 
Christian orations himself, one of which, of a considerable length, is pre- 
served by the historian, his favourite bishop : directs the sacred observa- 
tion of the Lord's Day, to which he adds that of Friday also, the day of 
Christ's Crucifixion, and teaches the soldiers of his army tu pray, by a 
short form made for their use. 1 

Among other improvements, Constantine abolished the barbarous pun- 
ishment of crucifixion ; and from the time that the sign of the cross 
appeared to him in the battle against Maxentius, the cross, as a figure, 
began to be reverenced and esteemed. Theodosius afterwards made a law 
that no image of the cross should be graven in stone, marble, or in earth, 
lest men should tread on it. 2 

Constantine also forbade the private use of divination, though he still 
allowed the public use of it in baths and temples ; he afterwards abolished 
the worst branches of sorcery and magic. Finding the idolaters still 
addicted to their rites, he took another step, that of publicly exposing the 
mysteries which had hitherto been kept secret, melted down golden 
statues, and caused brazen ones to be drawn by ropes through the streets 
of Constantinople ; and some of the temples, which had been scenes of 
horrible wickedness, he destroyed. In Egypt the famous cubit, with 
which the priests were wont to measure the height of the Nile, was kept 
in the temple of Serapis. This, by Constautine's order, was removed to 
the Church of Alexandria. The pagans beheld the removal with indig- 
nation, and ventured to predict that the Nile would no longer overflow its 
banks. Divine Providence, however, smiled on the schemes of Constan- 
tine, and the Nile the next year overflowed the country in an uncommon 
degree. In this gradual manner was Paganism overturned. 3 

As for Helena, liufinus calls her faitli and holy zeal incomparable, and 
says she kindled the same fire in the hearts of the Romans. One of our 
early writers, speaking of the piety of Helena, 4 says, " She persevered to 
the end of her days, with the evangelic Anne, in holy widowhood, entirely 
devoted to the Christian religion." There are authors who record that it was 
through her that persecution ceased, and peace was restored to the Church . 

1 Miluer's Church History. " Galerius, tormented with sufferings from an in- 
curable disease, published an edict taking off the persecution from the Christians, 
and allowed them to rebuild their places of worship, desiring them to pray f < r 
his health. He expired a few days afterwards." 

2 Polydore Vergil. 

3 For many benefits conferred on the Church, Constantine was, after death, 
canonized by the Greeks, who keep his festival on May 21st. 

4 Baleus. Gregory the Great recommends her as an example to Bertha, Queen 
of Ethelbert. 

I 



130 ST. HELENA. 

Such an understanding of heavenly philosophy is she said to have arrived 
at, after a knowledge of the Gospel, that she early produced treatises — 

On the Providence of God, 1 book. 

On the Immortality of the Soul, 1 book. 

The Rule for Right Living, 1 book. (To the ever-august lord, her son.) 

Epistles to Constantine, 1 book. 

Of her Revelations, 1 book. 

Pious Exhortations to her son, 1 book. 

To Pope Sylvester, many epistles. 

To the Abbot Antonius, many epistles. 1 

Certain Greek Poems, 1 book. 

All which are stated by Ponticus to be still extant. 

Hitherto, from the period of his coming into power, nothing is recorded 
of Constantine that takes from the excellence of his character. But 
whatever virtues might exist in those times, the savage nature, yet un- 
subdued by a continuance of the usages of the blessed faith of Christ, 
would occasionally break forth, and some unexpected act of cruelty or 
revenge appears in history, as if to contradict the good attributed to its 
heroes. 

This was the case in regard to Constantine, who, generally represented 
as just and merciful, yet committed acts which can scarcely be reconciled 
with such a reputation, and in these the influence of his mother appears 
to have been of no avail. 

It would seem that, at the time when the son of Fausta was about ten 
years of age, Crispus, the son of Constantine by his first wife, Minervina, 
became the object, some writers say, of the love, some of the jealousy, 
of his mother-in-law. Be the cause what it might, Fausta, it appears, 
was bent on the destruction of the young prince, and made accusations 
against him to his father, which entirely embittered his mind. 

It was at a grand festival in honour of the twentieth year of Constan- 
tine's reign, when the court was at Nicomedia, that in the midst of enjoy- 
ment, and unsuspecting of evil, Crispus and several of his friends were 
arrested, carried away to judgment, and after a brief examination by per- 
sons already instructed to find them guilty, they were condemned, some 
to death, others to banishment, which was to end in the same punishment. 
Crispus was sent to Pola, in Istria, where he was soon after put to death. 2 

The vengeance of Fausta was now satisfied, and the stern justice of 
Constantine executed ; but Helena's affliction knew no bounds at so severe 
and unlooked-for an act, and she felt convinced, not only that the prince 
was innocent of the intention to conspire against his father, of which he 
was publicly accused, but that he had secret enemies, who ought to be 
brought to light, and receive the reward of their crime. 

In her endeavours to discover these, revelations of a character for which 

1 Anthony, the holy hermit, who is described as a man "wrapped wholly in 
contemplation," was by birth an Egyptian. [John Rous.] His manner of living 
was severe, his food being bread alone, and water his beverage; his single meal 
in the day was taken at sunset. This man did much to reform mankind in Con- 
Ktantine's reign, and Helena oftentimes, both by letter and messengers, recom- 
mended herself and her sons to his prayers. [Platina.] 

a Gibbon. 



ST. HELENA. 131 

she was not prepared, were made, by which Constantine became aware 
of the infidelity of the Empress Fausta herself, to whose representations 
he had yielded, and had sacrificed his son. Rage and jealousy now took 
possession of his mind, and without waiting for more proofs of the frailty 
of his wife, he determined that her life should pay the forfeit of her 
treachery. 

It is recorded that Fausta met her death in the bath, in which she 
was suffocated by the steam, " it having been heated to an extraordinary 
degree." ' 

Helena heard of this second act of retribution with feelings of deep 
regret and sorrow, and is said to have, in her character of his mother, 
reproved the Emperor with great severity for his cruelty in both instances : 
and this is recorded to have been the sole occasion on which a difference 
ever existed between her and her son. The accusations and the vengeance 
were both common to the times, and frightful as the facts are, the loss of 
human life did not affect the world as it does in more civilized days; 
otherwise it is difficult to find excuses for Constantine, who is accused by 
some authors of more than one act of cruelty irreconcileable with his 
boasted clemency. Considering his profession of the new faith, and his 
opposition to the old, he had doubtless sufficient enemies ready to blacken 
his character, whenever there was a possibility of misrepresenting the 
truth. This may also account for the accusations which have been made 
against Helena herself, of having been the accuser of Fausta, and the 
instigator of her son's vengeance against his wife. 

The death of Licinius is another stain cast on the fame of Constantine, 
who, having condemned him as an accomplice in the designs of Crispus, 
affected to listen to the prayers of his agonised sister, aud appeared to 
consent to his banishment to Thessalonica; but he was, soon after his 
arrival there, murdered by the imperial order. 

Helena, after the catastrophe of their mother's death, took upon herself 
the education of the children of Fausta. 

About A. D. 325 happened one of the most interesting events in Church 
history — the Council of Nice. It is not certain that Helena was present 
on this remarkable occasion j but, as her son presided at the assembly, it 
is very likely that she did so likewise, for she generally not only accom- 
panied him wherever he went, but sat in council, and aided him with her 
wisdom and experience. 

Helena is thus described, when, at the advanced age of eighty, she 
undertook an expedition surprising at her } T ears: "Her life was constantly 
happy, at least after the elevation of her son to the throne of the Ceesars. 
She saw that only son reunite under his power the whole extent of the 
Roman dominion, and three grandsons seemed to promise her that the 
Empire would be perpetuated in her posterity. Add to this, perfect 
health, and an unimpaired vigour of mind, preserved even in her old age, 
So many prosperities were not to her, as they too often prove, a means of 
seduction, but, on the contrary, an inexhaustible fund of grateful acknow- 
ledgment and piety toicards God." 2 

' Gibbon. 2 Crevier. 



132 ST. HELENA. 

The great enterprise for which, more than any other action in her life, 
Helena has been celebrated, was a journey into the East, for the express 
purpose of discovering the true cross on which our Saviour had suffered. 
This grand undertaking was made at the distance of more than three 
hundred years from the Christian era, and attests the exalted piety of the 
Empress. Some say she desired to adorn the churches and oratories in 
those sacred spots, noticed in the history of our blessed Lord, and to 
relieve the poor 1 of those parts; others, that visions, admonitions in 
sleep, or divine warnings, had led to the design which drew Helena to 
the Holy Land ; and St. Paulinus declares no worldly motive could have 
directed her steps ; it was the pious one alone of discovering the true 
cross. A letter from Constantine was dispatched to Macarius, Bishop of 
Jerusalem, ordering him to make search for the sacred relic on Mount 
Golgotha of Calvary. Tradition had pointed out the spot where it was 
to be found, and it is said that Helena had been favoured with an especial 
revelation to aid her search. 

Accordingly, the aged Empress set forth, attended by an imperial 
retinue, and at the head of a large army, taken for that purpose out of 
Britain; 2 whence some have derived her surname of "Lueddog," Elen 
Lueddog, signifying " Elen with the great army." 

The desire of Helena to admit her own countrymen to a share in this 
great and glorious enterprise is highly interesting; for it shows that in 
her honoured position of Roman Empress she still remembered that she 
was Queen of the Britons. The Emperor himself accompanied her as 
far as Byzantium. 

On her arrival at Jerusalem, Helena is said to have convened a large 
assembly of Jews, of whom she requested information concerning the 
spot of which she was in search. They refused to point it out; upon 
which Helena threatened to put them to death. 3 On hearing this, they 
reluctantly confessed that Judas — an ominous name — one of their number, 
could give the necessary information. This man, however, who was really 
acquainted with the place, was as resolute as his brethren; and it was 
not till after he had passed several days without food in a dry cistern or 
pit, where he had been placed by order of Helena, that hunger conquered 
his resolution, and he made known the secret, by leading the impatient 
Empress to the spot. 4 When arrived there, the search was by no means 
easy. The Emperor Adrian, who had delighted in the profanation of 
those sacred places, had, about 200 years before, buried under great heaps 
of earth the place where the holy sepulchre existed, not far distant from 
the spot of the crucifixion, and had built upon a platform over the place, 
which was paved with stone, a temple to Venus, while above the sepul- 
chre he had raised a statue of Jupiter. 

It was necessary to remove the whole of this edifice, and afterwards to 
clear away the mass of stones on which it rested, as a preliminary step 
to the necessary discovery; this done, they had to dig very deep to dis- 
cover the former surface. No difficulties could, however, deter Helena. 

1 Rufinus, John Baleus. a Lewis's Hist, of Great Britain. 

3 Caxton says by fire. * Eusebius, Caxton. 



ST. HELENA. 133 

from accomplishing her pious object. After avast quantity of earth had 
been removed, and all the rubbish of the buildings they had demolished, 
the sacred grot was discovered wherein the Lord's body had rested,' and 
whence it had arisen in a glorified state. 

After they had dug a little deeper still, they discovered three crosses; 
and here a new and unexpected difficulty arose — for they could not deter- 
mine which of these crosses was the one that had borne the Saviour of 
Man. The superscription was indeed found, but it was not attached to 
any one of them. Judas could not tell the Queen which was the true 
cross, and Macarius suggested that a miraculous proof should be demanded 
of God concerning its identity. The Empress, the bishop, and others, 
therefore, went to the house of a lady of quality, who was very ill, in 
the city. On arriving there, the Empress having herself made a prayer 
aloud, 1 the bishop applied the crosses, and the sick person was restored 
instantly at the touch of the true cross. Many historians relate this as a 
fact; and add that, by touching it, a dead person also was restored to 
life. According to Caxton, Judas had laid the three crosses in the middle 
of the city, and while there awaiting some demonstration from God, at 
about noon a young man's body was carried forth to burial. Judas 
detained the bier, and laid on it first one of the three crosses, then a 
second, and after that a third, when the dead was restored to life. Sozo- 
men relates this incident, as he tells us, from report only; and Mr. Butler 
says it deserves little credit. Some, indeed, consider the whole story of 
the Inventio Crucis, or Finding of the Cross by Helena, as a mere fiction; 
and Salmasius, in his "Treatise de Cruce," p. 296, endeavours to prove 
it such, on account of the supposed inscription; "for where was the 
necessity of a miracle for distinguishing the cross on which our Saviour 
suffered, from those of the malefactors, if the above-mentioned inscription 
was found near it; as it would plainly appear, from the hole and nails, 
which of the crosses it had been affixed to, though even the two other 
malefactors, as is probable, had their inscriptions." 3 Eusebius, however, 
mentions indirectly the discovery of the cross, in the letter of Constantine 
addressed to Macarius about building the church, and describes the two 
magnificent churches which Helena built, the one on Calvary, the other 
on Mount Olivet; 4 it is therefore, no refutation of these historians, though 
perhaps some embellishment may have been added to the main facts. 5 

Caxton. a This prayer is recorded by Rufinus, Hist. lib. x., cap. 8. 

3 Keysler's Travels. " Butler. 

s Polydore Vergil, who relates the fact of Helena's finding the three crosses, 
says, " it was easy to perceive Christ's cross by the title which then did remain, 
albeit sore wasted and corrupted with antiquity." 

Judas is said to have possessed a family memorial of 326 years' standing, 
naming the place which Helena desired to discover, which document he presented 
to the Empress, and thus the cross was found. Subsequently Judas, who was a 
Hebrew, received the baptismal rite, and the name of Queriacus was bestowed 
on him by Helena ; he lived to become a bishop, and suffered martyrdom. The 
llomans appointed a festival in his honour on the 3rd of May, which was subse- 
quently called Holy Cross Day. 

Platina tells us the cross was discovered by Helena on the 3rd of May, during 
the Pontificate of Eusebius, but the calendar appended to Cooper's account of 
12 



134 ST. HELENA. 

The Empress, who had presided in person over the whole work, was 
overwhelmed with joy at finding herself in possession of such a treasure ; 
she cut the sacred cross into two pieces, the largest of which was enclosed 
in a rich silver shrine, and placed under the care of Macarius, Bishop 
of Jerusalem ; it was afterwards annually exposed to the adoration of the 
people, sometimes oftener, in proportion to the number of pilgrims who 
resorted thither to worship it. The second portion of the cross was sent 
as a present of inestimable value to Constantine, who was at Constanti- 
nople, and there, at certain periods, it was uncovered and exposed to the 
adoration of the public with much solemnity. Fragments, as is well 
known, of this cross have been dispersed all over Christendom. 

About three hundred and fifty years after the discovery of the cross, an 
Anglo-Saxon nun wrote the description of a journey of pilgrimage made 
by two of her countrymen 1 in the eighth century, who travelled to the 
Holy Land through Asia Minor. After tracing their progress, the writer, 
who was of the monastery of Heidenham, says : " And then they came 
to Jerusalem, by that place where the Holy Cross of our Lord was found. 
There is now a church in this place, called the Place of Cavalry; but 
St. Helen, when she discovered it, enclosed it within the boundaries of 
Jerusalem ; and there stand three wooden crosses, in front of the east 
court of the church, near the wall. These are not within the church, 
but withoutside, under a covering; and there is that garden, near where 
the sepulchre of our Lord was. This sepulchre was cut in the rock, 
and that rock stands upon the ground ; it is four-square within, and 
narrow towards the top ; and the cross of that sepulchre stands now 
upon the top ; and there beside is built an admirable house ; and on the 
east side, in that rock, is the door of the sepulchre, by which men enter 
into it to pray; and there is the bed where the body of the Lord lay; 
and there stand about the bed fifteen golden basins of oil, burning day and 
night ; that bed is on the northern side, within the sepulchre, and is on 
the right hand of the man as he goes in to pray there. And there, be- 
fore the door of the sepulchre lieth a great stone, like to that which the 
angel rolled away." 

Such is one of the earliest accounts of the sacred edifice which was 
erected over the spot of our Lord's Sepulchre, 2 where part of the cross 
found by St. Helena was deposited. The splendour is said to have 
rivalled that of Heliogabalus's Temple of the Sun, "its walls being lined 
with precious marbles, its roof covered with beaten gold, while in the 
shower of light which fell upon its dome, Helena affected to image and 
perpetuate the angelic glory to which the fane was dedicated." 3 

A modern writer 4 describes the building in these terms: "The form 

the most important Public Records of Great Britain (vol. ii. p. 489), fixes the 
date on the 3rd of May, a. d. 826, in the twenty-first year of Constantine's reign, 
the thirteenth of the Pontificate of Sylvester, and the first after the Council of 
Nice.— Butler, vol. v., p. 564. 

1 St. Willebald and St. Wunebald. See Miss Lawrence's interesting work, His- 
tory of Woman in England. 

3 Milner's Hist, of the Church of Christ. 3 Lady Morgan. 

4 Light's Travels in Egypt, Nubia, the Holy Land, and Cyprus. 



ST. HELENA. 135 

of the body of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is circular, over which 
is a heavy cupola. In the body of the church are entrances to the three 
chapels of the Greeks, Armenians, and Latins, and to the cells of the 
monks, who are kept there for the service of the church. The chapels 
are fitted up in the style of the sect to which they belong; the Greeks 
and Armenians with pictures, the Latins with images. In the centre 
rises an oblong building of wood, of twenty feet in length by ten in 
breadth, in which is a cupola, open at top. One half of this contains the 
Sepulchre of our Saviour, the other is fitted up for the chapel of the 
Copts. A small space enclosed by low railings surrounds the entrance 
to the Sepulchre. I confess I had been prepared to see something like 
a tomb, and was rather disappointed, on entering, to find myself in a mean 
chapel, where the altar, of plain white marble, occupied a space of six 
feet in length, two in breadth, and in depth about two feet and a half, 
leaving only room in front fit to kneel. It covers, according to the tra- 
dition of the place, the tomb of our Saviour, of whom a miserable picture 
is hung on the tapestry over the altar; this is lighted by forty-five silver 
lamps, suspended in six rows from the cupola. I followed the example 
of my guide in kissing the altar, kneeling and bowing my head over it. 

" From the Sepulchre, I was led to a flat stone of six feet in length, 
and three in breadth, forming part of the pavement of the body of the 
church where our Saviour's body was anointed after it was taken from the 
cross ; near which were the tombs of Godfrey and Baldwin, two of the 
sovereigns of Jerusalem during the Crusades. They are now enclosed, 
and coucealed from view within the wall, their existence and appearance 
not being interesting to the Armenians, who new modelled the church. 

"The attempt to bring everything connected with the crucifixion of 
our Saviour under the same roof, surprised me. In one part of the 
church is an elevated piece of rock, enclosed in a sort of chapel, in which 
the crucifixion took place; three small square pieces of marble, in the 
centre of which is a pole, mark the spot where the crosses of our Saviour 
and the malefactors were fixed; and in another, close to this, is a chapel, 
dedicated to the place where the ceremony of nailing to the cross was 
performed ; underneath is an excavation, where St. Helena found the 
cross ; and a little further off is the tomb of Nicodemus the Jew, who is 
mentioned in St. John, chapter iii. ; but by what authority he is buried 
here I do not know. To complete the show, a fragment of a granite 
column, about two feet high, said to be taken from the palace of Pontius 
Pilate, and described as the pillar to which our Saviour was attached 
when he was scourged, is placed in another chapel. But I will not tire the 
reader by dwelling longer on the relics of this church, which are made the 
objects of contention between the different sects, and are by turns pos- 
sessed, as each has money to purchase the right to them from the Turk- 
ish chiefs, who of course are anxious that such contests should occur." 

Mr. Light, seeing the anxiety to crowd all the relics of the Saviour 
uuder one roof, the Sepulchre in particular being so near the place of 
crucifixion, doubts whether it was the actual burying-place of our Lord, 
and thinks that the early Christians, from their zeal, neglected to examine 
among the tombs further from the city for the real Sepulchre. He 



136 ST. HELENA. 

says : — In the Valley of Jeliosophat there are caverns -which have evi- 
dently been tombs, many of them with a stone portal, and bear marks of 
great antiquity. The text in Scripture says, the stone was rolled away, 
which certainly applies more to a vertical than a horizontal position, the 
supposed situation of the present tomb, and is contrary to the custom 
prevalent of burying the dead in tombs excavated in the sides of rocks, 
of which memorials are to be found in all parts of the East. As I made 
these observations before I read Dr. Clarke's account of Jerusalem, I was 
much gratified in finding his opinion coincide with mine." 

The same author goes on to observe : — "Within the limits of the Aga's 
seraglio or palace are said to be the place of confinement and judgment- 
hall of our Saviour, the spot where be was scourged, and that in which 
the cross was kept before it was used for the crucifixion, and where it was 
left by the Empress Helena after she found it on Mount Calvary." 

Helena, likewise, was desirous to evince her piety by monuments, 
raised in the several other places rendered sacred by our Lord's sufferings. 
She destroyed at Bethlehem the Temple of Adonis, by which Adrian 
had, about a hundred years before, profaned the place where Christ was 
born, and raised instead, a church to the incarnate Son of God. She 
built another upon the Mount of Olives, on the spot where our Saviour 
ended his abode on earth by his glorious ascension. In both these 
works she was assisted by the liberality of her son, but she had the first 
share in the design and execution of them. 1 

The lamented author of the " Crescent and the Cross" 2 thus describes 
his visit to the Church of St. Helena, at Bethlehem : — " Entering by a 
very low door and long passage, almost upon hands and knees, I stood up 
under the noble dome of the Church of St. Helena. The roof, con- 
structed of cedar-wood from Lebanon, is supported by forty huge marble 
pillars, showing dimly the faded images of painted saints. The whole 

1 Both these edifices are described by the early Saxon writer of the Life of 
St. Willebald, in the eighth century, as having been seen by that bishop, who, 
when he visited the Mount of Olives, "came to the church on that mount from 
which our Lord ascended into heaven. And in the midst of the church stands 
a. plate of brass beautifully wrought, and it is square. This is in the midst of 
the church, on the place where our Lord ascended into heaven ; and in the mid- 
dle court is a quadrangle, and there are little glass lamps, and round about these 
lamps is glass to enclose them. And this is why they are enclosed, that they 
may keep alight both in rain and sunshine. This church is, moreover, very broad, 
and without a roof, and there stand two pillars just withinside the church, against 
the northern and the southern walls. These are in remembrance of the two men 
who said, ' Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?' And that 
man who can pass between the wall and the columns, they say he is free from 
his sins. 

" Then he went to the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds, and 
then to Bethlehem, where our Lord was born. This place was formerly a cave, 
and now it is a house, cut four-square in the rock, and the earth is dug away 
round about, and a church is now built over it. And on the place where the 
Lord was born now stands an altar, and another smaller altar is there, and when 
they celebrate mass in the cave, they take that smaller altar and carry it within. 
This church, which stands above, is built in the form of a cross, and it is a glo- 
rious building." 

' Eliot Warburton. 



ST. HELENA. 137 

building is silent, dirt)', and neglected-looking, but of noble proportions. 
From its court are parted off the different chapels belonging to the rival 
sects. The Armenian is the handsomest and wealthiest of these, as its 
friars are by far the most respectable. 

" The Chapel of the Nativity is a subterranean grotto, into which you 
descend in darkness, that gives way to the softened light of many silver 
lamps suspended from the roof. Notwithstanding the improbability of 
this being the actual place of the Nativity, one cannot descend with 
indifference into the enclosure, which has led so many millions of pilgrims, 
in rags or armour, during 1800 years, from their distant homes. It is, 
however, impossible to recognise anything like a reality in the mass of 
marble, brass, and silken tawdry ornaments ; and one leaves this most 
celebrated spot in the world with feelings of disappointment." 

Mr. Turner is still more minute ; these are his words : " I descended 
a staircase and entered a grotto, said to be the site of the stable in which 
our Saviour was born ; it lies east south-east, and west north-west, and 
is thirty-seven feet six inches long, and fourteen broad. At the easterly 
end, on the supposed site of the birth, is built an altar, six feet three 
inches long, and fifty-eight feet six inches deep, formerly belonging (as 
indeed did the whole church) to the Catholics, but now usurped by the 
Greeks, with whom the Armenians have lately bought a share. This 
altar, lying north north-east, and south south-west, is above, adorned with 
mosaic, laid by Helena, but now ruined, and with Greek pictures of 
saints, &c, and lighted with fourteen silver lamps, belonging to its present 
possessors. The grotto, i. e., the whole, is lighted by twenty-six silver 
and silver-gilt lamps, the property of the Catholics. To the west-south- 
west of the site of the birth, fourteen feet distant (in which are included 
three steps, cut from the naked rock), is another altar (lying north by 
east and south by west, and contained in an interior grotto), the site, it 
is said, of the manger in which our Saviour was laid : this altar is fifty 
inches long, and thirty-five and a half deep. To the east south-east 
of the manger, five feet six inches distant, is another altar, supposed to 
be on the spot where stood the Magi, when they offered their gifts to 
Jesus. Both these are hung with appropriate pictures; and the one on 
the site of the manger is lighted by five silver lamps. This interior 
grotto measured seven feet ten inches, by eight feet nine inches, and is 
embellished by four small columns standing near the supposed site of 
the manger, one of verd antique, one of pink, and two of white marble ; 
these were also placed by St. Helena. At the westerly end of the church 
is a door leading to a large natural cave, in which is shown, first, from 
the door to the right, an altar, covering, it is said, the spot where Joseph 
retired to pray, after the delivery of the Virgin ; second, to the right, an 
altai*, where are thought to have been buried the Innocents murdered by 
command of Herod; under it is a large hollow; third, turning into a 
passage on the left, an altar upon the sepulchre of St. Eusebius ; fourth, 
in the same passage, an altar upon the sepulchre of Santa Paola and her 
daughter; opposite to which, fifth, an altar on the sepulchre of St. 
Jerome ; and sixth, turning to the right, a chamber, said to have been 
the tomb where St. Jerome taught. The only thing belonging to the 
12* 



138 ST. HELENA. 

Greeks and Armenians here below, is the altar, on the site of the birth ; 
under this is a small hole, which they have embellished with a silver 
plate, for the pilgrims to kiss." 1 

It appears from St. Ambrose, that Helena was, out of contempt, called 
Stabularia by the Jews and Pagans, not as Baronius thinks, because Con- 
stautius lodged at the house of her father in Britain, but because she 
herself founded this Church at Bethlehem where the stable stood in 
which Christ was born, and which the enemies of the Christian name 
turned into ridicule. St. Ambrose writes thus of her : " They say she 
was first a stabularia, or one who entertained strangers, and so became 
known to Constantius, who afterwards arrived at the Empire. A good 
stabularia, who sought so diligently the crib of the Lord ; who chose to 
be reputed as dung, that she might gain Christ!" This commentary 
might also have referred to another grand work of Helena, which was a 
kitchen for the support of the indigent and hungry poor at Jerusalem. 

In this manner Helena directed the State revenues which her son had 
placed in her hands to the purposes of religion and benevolence. Pau- 
linus, Epist. XL ad Severum, reproaches the Empress-Mother with 
abusing the exchequer; but Fuller, 2 who refers to this charge against 
Helena, thinks that the word "abuti" should be rendered, "a full and 
free use of those treasures" her son had employed her to distribute. 

Saint Paulinus 3 writes of the discovery of the cross through the zeal 
of the Empress Helena, and lavishes praises on the faith of Constantine. 
The epistle which he addressed on this subject to Sulpicius Severus is 
edifying, for it gives a just idea of the mother's piety, and the religion 
of the young prince, her son : — 

" I am persuaded that it is not out of season that I inform you how the 
cross has been found, and recognized, to edify your faith by the history 
of an event which is too important for one to be ignorant of. It is easy 
to see, that he who knows not the detail, would with difficulty understand 
how this cross, which has been discovered by revelation, was the true one, 
on which the Lord willingly expired for- us; but it cannot be doubted 
that if it had fallen into the hands of the Jews, who are always watching 
to weaken the faith of Jesus Christ, they would have torn it to pieces, 
and reduced it to ashes. For those who had sealed the Sepulchre would 
not have failed to destroy the remembrance of it, and they would not have 
suffered the preservation of the cross to afford an excuse for worshipping 
Him whose resurrection they would not acknowledge, though attested by 
the opening of the tomb, and the uselessness of the seals they had placed 
upon it to hinder the rising from the dead which they apprehended. It 
is, therefore, in vain that we demand why the cross remained buried in 
the earth, since, if it had not been so, above all during the time of the 
persecutions, which have succeeded to the hatred of the Jews, and almost 
surpassed their cruelty, it is evident that all the remains would have been 
entirely destroyed ; for one may easily imagine with what fury those per- 

1 Turner's Tour in the Levant. 

* Worthies of England, vol. i. p. 500, edit. 1840. 

3 Bishop of Nola. 



ST. HELENA. 139 

sons would have destroyed the cross, who have expended their violence 
on the place where it had been deposited. The Emperor Adrian thought 
that by despoiling this sacred spot, he would succeed in undermining and 
extirpating the faith of the Christians : with this view he decorated a 
statue of Jupiter in the place where Christ died, and Bethlehem was in 
like manner profaned by the impure Temple of Adonis. He hoped, so 
to speak, to pluck up the Church by the root, and to shake it from the 
foundation, if idols became adored on the spot where Jesus Christ was 
born to suffer, suffered to rise again, rose again to reign, and was judged 
by the world, that in his turn he might judge the world. Alas ! it has 
pleased the all-powerful God to expose himself to these outrages, and 
even to permit profanation of sacrilegious men in the spot where he was 
crucified for the salvation of the human race. Over the cross, which had 
shaken all nature with earthquakes, by the eclipse of the sun, and by the 
dead rising from their graves, the idol of the Devil was raised ; his altar 
smoked with the funeral pile of the beasts which were sacrificed to him ; 
the name of God was conveyed to dead images, while He who is the 
living God, and the resurrection of the dead, was loaded with opprobrium, 
and blasphemed as a man who was dead, and dead by the shameful 
punishment of the cross. In Bethlehem, where two animals had recog- 
nised their master, and the manger of their Lord, men, disowning their 
Saviour and their God, have paid a superstitious worship to the infamous 
love of mortals, and to dead bodies. That place in which wise men from 
the distant climate of Chaldea had adored the Eternal King, whose 
cradle had been revealed to them by a new star, and had offered their 
presents, had the Romans rendered sacred to impure and barbarous pas- 
sions. In that spot where, during the night, lighted by the star, the 
shepherds, accompanied by a multitude of angels, and transported by a 
celestial joy, repaired to render homage to the new-born Saviour, impure 
females, amidst effeminate men, have wept for the death of Adonis, and 
the grief of Venus. Alas ! what piety may be able to expiate such pro- 
digious impiety ! In the place where the sacred tears of the Saviour's 
infancy had been heard, shameful ceremonies retain the cries of those who 
utter the lamentable complaints of Venus. 

" This shame to the age lasted till the time of Constantine, which 
touches our own. This prince merited to be the model and Chief of 
Christian princes, by his own faith and that of his mother Helena, who, 
by Divine inspiration, when this circumstance was made known to her, 
sighed for the happiness of beholding Jerusalem; and being proclaimed 
August with her son, besought him to give her permission to visit the 
places made holy by the traces of our Lord, and by the mysteries which 
He had wrought for us. She desired by the destruction of temples and 
sacrilegious idols, to purge these holy places from the contagion of im- 
piety, and to restore them to their original holiness ; for it was necessary 
that the Church should resume its rights, and recover its first lustre in 
that place where it had received its birth. The Emperor did not hesitate 
to consent to all that she wished, and his august mother devoted the 
treasures with which she had been entrusted by him, in lavishing on the 
pious works which she projected every richness that could be withdrawn 



140 ST. HELENA. 

thence. It was with all the grandeur and magnificence which depended 
on herself, and which religion required, that she adorned noble churches 
in every place where her Divine Redeemer had accomplished the healing 
mysteries of mercy. 

" Helena desired, in these magnificent works, to pay to Christ the 
homage of an Empress ; but she did not, at the same time, omit to per- 
form those works of mercy and goodness, which are more pleasing in the 
eyes of God than any temples wrought with hands. It was her delight 
to relieve the poor, the orphans, and widows, by her charity ; and as she 
travelled from place to place through the Holy Land, and more inti- 
mately surveyed the spots on which she desired to erect monuments to 
mark the glory of the Lord, and her own pious zeal in His service, she 
left in the hearts of all, abundant testimonies to her own vital religion. 
Helena especially honoured those virgins who were consecrated to God ; 
and having one day assembled all who resided at Jerusalem, she gave 
them an entertainment, at which she waited on them herself." 

Suidas, who notices this humility of mind and Christian modesty in 
the Empress of the Roman world, towards women of the monastic order, 
says : " She often assembled, and seated, and ministered to them with 
her own hands, setting before them the victuals, and handing the cups, 
and pouring water over their hands, so performing the part and office of 
a maid-servant." 

" She loved simplicity ; and in the common prayers of the faithful, 
she mixed with the other women, without taking any particular or distin- 
guished place. She visited the principal churches of the East, and left, 
wherever she went, proofs of her Christian and religious liberality ; nor 
did she pass by the chapels of the meanest towns, where her delicate 
sense of humility led her to appear amongst the women at prayer in a 
most humble garment. She was able to indulge her pious charity in 
these respects, because the Emperor, her son, confiding in her prudence, 
gave her leave to draw upon the imperial treasury for whatever sums she 
pleased." 1 Whilst, therefore, "Helena travelled all over the East with 
royal pomp and magnificence, she heaped all kinds of favours both on 
cities and private persons, particularly on soldiers, the poor, the naked, 
and those who were condemned to the mines, distributing money, gar- 
ments, &c., and freeing many from oppression, chains, and banishment." 11 
By these and a thousand other actions, Helena proved herself the 
"common mother of the indigent and distressed." 3 "She herself built 
more churches than any woman before her time or since, 4 to say nothing 
of those numerous edifices of another kind, suggested by her benevo- 
lence." 

Of this latter class was the kitchen founded at Jerusalem by the Em- 
press, thus described by Mr. Turner: "We visited the kitchen of St. 
Helena, which is a large edifice, well built of yellowish marble, and 
having its two doors adorned after the Gothic fashion. It is still used 
by the Turks for the purpose for which it was originally instituted, being 

1 Crevier. a Butler's Lives. 

8 St. Gregory the Great. * Green's Worcester. 



ST. HELENA. 141 

a kitchen endowed by the Sultan for the benefit of the poor, and of 
Turkish travellers. The Turks have divided it into several apartments, 
of which some are ovens, some stables; and above they have built a 
mosque and a bath." 

The Church of the Ascension, which stands on the loftiest of the 
three summits of the Mount of Olives, in the centre of the village of 
Mount Olivet, on the very spot whence our Saviour is thought to have 
ascended to heaven, was built, it is said, by St. Helena, and, says War- 
burton, "from the roof may be obtained the most interesting, if not the 
most striking, view in the world." The holy spot whereon our Lord is 
supposed to have stood, was enclosed by the Empress with an octagonal 
building, roofed by a round dome. " On each side of this building, ex- 
cept where is the door, are two small columns (fourteen in all) of coarse 
marble, with highly ornamented capitals. The circle of the inside was 
sixteen feet two inches round, and the dome about thirty-five feet high 
from the ground. Within is a stone, thirty-one inches by twenty-one, 
said to have been the last earthly substance that Jesus trod on. This 
stone contained an impression, which, says tradition, is the print of Jesus' 
foot. A higher authority, 1 however, says, our Saviour ascended from 
Bethany. Near the stone is a recess (to make which the symmetry of 
the building is spoiled, and a parcel of stones are heaped up to cover it 
on the outside) for the Turks and Arabs to pray in. All the pilgrims 
kiss the stone very devoutly. Of the court in which the building stands, 
each side is about one hundred feet, but the shape is irregular. Here 
the Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, and Copts, have each an altar (the Ar- 
menians have two) of stones, rudely piled, 2 of the Mosque of Omar. In 
the kitchen, which has a small dome, supported by four square clumsy 
columns, are some of the original caldrons of Helena, of which, one of 
the largest that I measured, was fifty inches round, and thirty inches 
deep. A mituctee, or superintendent, is sometimes sent from Constanti- 
nople, to honour a distinguished visitor here : she has a residence in the 
kitchen, and takes care that the guest be well provided : in this case the 
poor are neglected, as the fund is eaten up by the numerous attendants 
that always accompany a distinguished Turk." 3 

It must be interesting to the generous friends of the poor and needy, 
who in our own days have fed the hungry and clothed the naked, in simi- 
lar institutions, to revert to the primary institution founded on this prin- 
ciple in a remote age in that Holy City which, iu religious interest, 
exceeds every other in the earth. Nor was this the only other em- 
bellishment added by Helena to the churches she had already founded ; 
for, about one hundred paces south-east of the Holy Sepulchre stauds the 
convent of St. Peter, also the work of the Empress. It is now in the 
possession of the Turks, who have converted it into a tanner's yard and 
stables; several broken pieces of columns are attached to the walls. 

1 Luke, chap. xxiv. 

3 The village itself stands on the summit of a mountain, and commands a com- 
plete view of Jerusalem, from which it is about twenty minutes' distance. — Turnci . 
* Turner's Tour. 



142 ST. HELENA. 

Scarcely a spot celebrated in Scripture passed unregarded by tbe obser- 
vant and pious Helena : churches arose in all directions, convents adorned 
the desolate places dedicated to the service of Christ : Nazareth, Bethle- 
hem, Arimathea, testify the zeal of the Empress in her holy undertaking. 
The finest convent in the Holy Land, that at Nazareth, was erected by 
her orders, and is thus described : " The church of this convent is very 
large and handsome : there is a grotto under it, to which visitors descend 
by a handsome marble staircase : it was there, they say, that the angel 
Gabriel appeared to the Virgin. The natural ceiling of the grotto is 
left; but a very handsome altar of sculptured marble is built in it; and 
there are still seen two columns of granite, placed, it is said, by Helena, 
to mark the spot ; of one of which the lower part is broken off, so that 
it is upheld by, and hangs from, the stone roof, which is here looked on 
as miraculous. Out of the grotto, a short passage leads into a small 
cave, said to have been the kitchen of the Virgin." ' 

Of the convent of St. Catharine, at Bethlehem, Dr. Wittman writes : — 
" As we approached the convent, in which we were received with great 
hospitality, we passed beneath the ruins of an ancient gateway, and after- 
wards entered a lofty building, erected by St. Helena, anciently styled 
the Temple, but now the Convent of St. Catharine. It is ornamented 
with at least fifty lofty and beautiful columns of marble, of the Corinthian 
order, and has on its walls the remains of several fine paintings in fresco 
of Scriptural subjects, representing the apostles, patriarchs, &c. The 
beauty and symmetry of the Temple have been in some measure des- 
troyed, by a portion of it, which they have converted into a chapel, hav- 
ing been divided off" by the Greeks, who received permission from the 
Turks to do so, on their consenting to pay an annual contribution." 

" Ramla," says the same traveller, " the ancient Arimathea, was the 
seat of government in the theocratic days of Israel; here Samuel judged 
the people, and here the elders of the Hebrews assembled to demand a 
king to rule over them." Here St. Helena, having gathered tbe bones 
of the martyrs out of the marshes, and placed them in coffins, built over 
them a church called the Church of the Forty Martyrs. Light, who 
visited the subterraneous Church of the Holy Martyrs, says, " the ruin 
may be dated from the time of the Crusades. Close to this there is a 
large reservoir, which is ascribed to St. Helena, the roof being supported 
by arches and pillars of the Gothic or Saracenic architecture, the length 
being not less than one hundred feet, and the breadth forty." 

Among other foundations ascribed to Helena, are the Convent of St. 
Tecla, in the island of Cyprus, and the Convent of Santa Croce, built on 
the summit of the ancient Mount Olympus : the latter is said to have 
been small, but built with great solidity. 2 

1 Turner's Tour. 

2 Mr. Turner says : Under it are subterraneous chambers, of which three have 
been opened, and found to contain rich priestly habits ; of these the Turks took 
possession ; there remains a fourth unopened, of which the priests conceal their 
knowledge till they shall find an opportunity of opening it unknown to their ty- 
rants. The door of the convent is guarded by a portcullis ; the church is small 
and mean. I found it full of about one hundred and fifty Greek peasants, who 
were bowing and praying to a cloth, on which was embroidered a cross." 



ST. HELENA. 143 

"When the idea of searching for the cross first inspired the Empress, 
she is said to have exclaimed, " I behold Calvary, I behold the field of 
battle — but where are the spoils and the trophies ? I seek the standard 
of salvation without its being displayed to my view ! I am elevated on 
a throne, and the cross of my Saviour lies buried under a dunghill ! I 
see myself amidst a superb court, and the triumph of the Son of God is 
buried in ruins ! How can I believe that I have been redeemed, if I do 
not behold the victory of my Redeemer V l Her glorious enterprise was 
indeed achieved, and when the precious relic of the Divine nature upon 
earth was presented to her enraptured view, she worshipped, not indeed 
the senseless wood, but Him who had suffered upon it. Yet this very 
circumstance led to a result on which the pious Empress had not counted 
— no other than the worship of relics — a superstitious observance which 
has continued ever since to prevail wherever the Romish faith has pre- 
vailed. The first originator, then, of the material worship which so essen- 
tially characterises the Roman Catholic, in contradistinction to the real 
Christian or Protestant faith, was the unconscious mother of Constautine. 
Before her time, no cross was ever venerated by the followers of our 
Lord, nor were material objects combined with the principles of the 
Christian faith. The apostles, the primitive fathers of the Church, the 
martyrs of Dioclesian, had alone the true God before their eyes; but 
now a new object of interest arose, and a new tradition attached import- 
ance, solemnity, and honour, to places and things; to the former, as the 
abodes of our Lord on earth, to the latter as relics rendered sacred by His 
touch. 

The portion of the cross, forwarded to Rome, was divided into portions, 
each of which was destined to form the foundation for some new edifice, 
dedicated to Christianity. Over these sacred relics was built, amongst 
others, the magnificent edifice of St. Peter at Rome. The possession of 
a portion of the Holy Cross was esteemed in itself sufficient to render any 
spot sacred and hallowed. Spires and domes arose in countless numbers 
to testify the fact. Other relics besides were found to be peculiarly 
sacred 5 the garments of the apostles, the bones of departed saints, began 
to acquire value in the Christian mind. The belief which could not at- 
tain by faith to a spiritual knowledge of the facts of the redemption, was 
forward in recognising and receiving objects known and attested by their 
connexion with the Divinity and His followers. 2 

To the great influence of Helena was also to be attributed the removal 
by Constantine of the court from Rome to Byzantium, where the Empe- 
ror founded for himself a new capital, which, from his own name, de- 
rived that of Constantinopolis, or " the city of Constantine." The more 

1 Ambrose, Theodoret. 

2 An order of the Cross (or Croisade), consisting of ladies only, was instituted 
in ItiliS by the Empress Eleanora de Gonzagua, a namesake of the mother of 
Constantine, and wife of the Emperor Leopold, on the occasion of the miraculous 
recovery of a little golden cross, wherein were enclosed two pieces of the true 
cross, out of the ashes of part of the palace : though the fire had burnt the case 
wherein it was enclosed, and melted the crystal, the wood had remained un- 
touched by the devouring element! — Ency. Brit. 



144 ST. HELENA. 

immediate vicinity of this city to the localities which the Empress-Mo- 
ther desired to adorn with edifices for Christian worship, was the main 
object in her view, and the Emperor seconded the design, under the 
impression that they might by fixing their residence there, more easily 
direct the persons employed to carry out their mutual enterprise. In 
the end, however, the removal of the court to so distant a spot produced 
the ruin of the Roman Empire, by diverting the strength of the heart 
of the government to so remote a portion. It is singular enough that 
the renowned city of Constantinople, first chiefly re-edified and ennobled 
by Constantine, son of Helena, should at last have been lost, and bereft 
of all Christian religion, by an Emperor called Constantine, whose mother 
also bore the name of Helena, A. D. 1460. ' 

The mother of Constantine the Great visited Constantinople the same 
year that the cross was discovered, A. D. 326. In that new capital of 
the world the Empress "founded temples exceeding in splendour, if not 
in beauty, the antique monuments of pagan worship, and strangely con- 
trasting with the chill catacombs and subterraneous crypts of the early 
congregations of Christians. The first church raised by Constantine, 
under the influence of Helena, was dedicated to the Divine Wisdom, 
clothed in a female form, under the invocation of St. Sophia. Even the 
foundation of the imperial city itself was ascribed to the inspiration of 
the Virgin Mary, who was chosen its tutelary guardian." 2 

Among other decorations of the Forum itself, there were, according to 
Suidas, "two columns of Helena and Constantine, with a cross between 
them, having the inscription ' Unus Sanctus/ 'there is One Holy.'" 

The fame of Christianity spread far and wide, amidst all the external 
honors paid to the faith; and as Helena, with her splendid train of Ro- 
man and British followers, progressed through the East from place to 
place, great multitudes of converts, amongst whom were illustrious Indi- 
ans, Iberians and Armenians, and many others of a meaner sort, received 
the baptismal rite, and swelled the imperial train. 3 

During the period that Constantinople was re-edified, Constantine 
resided at Nicomedia, surnamed "The Beautiful," the capital city of 
Bithynia, which, for greatness and magnificence, has been compared to 
Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. 4 Thither Helena repaired, to join her 
son, as soon as she had accomplished her designs in the East, carrying 
with her the precious testimonials of her pious search. On arriving, 
she related to the Emperor how she had discovered the holy cross, and 
by what prodigy it had been distinguished from those found with it, and 
also the superscription which had been separated from the cross. The 
Emperor was deeply affected, and still more so when his mother presented 
to him some of the sacred nails used by the Jews in the crucifixion of 

1 Stowe. " In 1472, on the 27th of May, -when Mahomet II., Prince of the 
Turks, took Constantinople, he beheaded the Christian Emperor, Constantine, 
and, putting his head on the top of a lance, caused it to be borne with derision 
thiough the Turkish camp. At the taking of the city there was also a horrible 
tempest of thunder and lightning, which buried about eight hundred houses." 

1 Lady Morgan 3 Suidas. * Lempriere. 



ST. HELENA. 145 

our Lord. 1 For scarcely had that precious cross, which Helena prized 
more than all the riches of the Roman Empire, at length been placed in 
her possession, than she remembered that she had not the nails, and had 
accordingly sent to desire Judas to search for them likewise. He obeyed 
the order, and after having dug in the earth for some time, is said to 
have found them shining as gold, and to have borne them to the Em- 
press, who, on beholding them, worshipped them with great reverence. 
One of these nails she put into a bridle for the horse her son rode upon, 2 
and another she reserved for the helmet he was accustomed to wear in 
battle f for both her affection and piety united in the hope that these 
sacred relics would preserve her beloved Constantine uninjured from his 
foes. 4 

The iron rim, which formerly adorned the helmet of the Roman Em- 
peror, and was made from one of the nails used in the crucifixion, is 
still in existence. It is about three-eighths of an inch broad, and a 
tenth of an inch thick, and constitutes the most important part of the 
famous iron crown of Lombardy, with which the Emperor Napoleon 
Buonaparte in modern times caused himself to be invested at his coro- 
nation ; being attached to the inside of it all round. Upwards of 1500 
years have passed away since this crown was presented to Constantine by 
his mother, and, says an intelligent writer, " there is not a speck of rust 
upon it ; which I was desired to notice as a permanent miracle, by the 
chanoine who called my attention to that fact. The crown itself consists 
of a broad circle of gold, set with large rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, 
and is kept in the Cathedral of Monza, over an altar, closely shut up 
within folding doors of gilt brass. This exhibition is attended with some 
ceremony, and the cross is not usually taken down from its elevated 
position to gratify curiosity by a nearer view ; but we were more fortu- 
nate. The crown is kept in an octagonal aperture in the centre of the 
cross ; it is composed of six equal pieces of beaten gold, joined together 
by close hinges; and the jewels of embossed gold ornaments are set in 
a ground of- blue and gold enamel ; which, to me, was interesting, as it 
exhibited an exact resemblance to the workmanship of the enamelled part 
of a gold ornament now in the Ashmolean Museum, which once belonged 
to King Alfred, and is the most curious piece of anticpiity in that mu- 
seum." 

Constantine the Great, at the beginning of his reign, wore the simple 
laurel and radiant crowns used by his predecessors in the Empire, but 
was the first Roman Emperor who made use of the diadem of pearls and 
rich stones ; and the fashion, not only of the crown, but of the corona- 
tion of Constantine, was afterwards followed by the rest of the monarchs 
of Europe. 5 

St. Gregory of Tours assures us that the third of these sacred nails 

1 Platiua's Lives of the Popes. 

5 One of the nails Constantine made into a horse's bit, which he used in bat- 
tle. — Flu Inn I. 

3 St. Ambrose. Caxton's Golden Legend. * Burton's Romo 

s Selden's Titles of Honour. 

13 K 



14G ST. HELENA. 

was thrown into the Adriatic by the Empress herself, 1 during a storm 
(perhaps on her homeward passage, as we are told she conveyed the holy 
treasure herself to her son), in consequence of which the sailors entered 
on that sea, as sanctified, with fastings, prayers and singing hymns, even 
to his own day. 2 

Two more of the precious nails are noticed by a modern writer, of which 
one was to be found in the Treasury of St. Mark at Venice, and the other 
in the church of the Benedictine Monastery at Catania : the latter, by its 
miraculous powers, prevented the destruction of that edifice in the over- 
whelming eruption of iEtna in the year 1669, when the lava flowed all 
round the monastery, and left it standing amidst liquid fire unhurt ! 

Amongst the bridal offerings presented by Hugh the Great, son of the 
King of France, to Athelstan, the English monarch, on the occasion of 
his soliciting the hand of the Princess Edilda, daughter of Edward the 
Elder, for his wife, was the sword of Constantine the Great, whose name, 
as that of its former possessor, was inscribed upon it in letters of gold ; 
and upon its pommel, rising up above the rich plates of gold, was to be 
seen one of the four nails of the crucifixion. That one of the nails did 
fall into the hands of the French King, is a fact recorded by Burton f 
and we are told that when Hugh presented this famous sword to King 
Athelstan, it was accompanied by other sacred relics — a portion of the 
true cross enclosed in crystal, and a fragment of the crown of thorns ; 
which last precious memorials were presented by the English monarch to 
the Abbey of Malmesbury. 

Helena, having first built a church upon the ground where the cross 
was found, returned and brought the nails with which our Saviour's body 
was fastened, as a present to her son. 4 

The cross which Helena conveyed to Rome on her return, was placed 
in a silver case set with gold and precious stones, 5 and was deposited in 
the Sessorian Church, 6 or rather in the edifice sometimes so called, be- 
cause it stood upon the site, or to speak more properly, near a great build- 
ing named II Sessorio, the Temple of Venus and Cupid. This pagan 
edifice was destroyed by the pious Constantine on the occasion of his 
founding the Church of Santa Croce, and the remains of the structure 
are yet visible as you enter the vineyard near the church. Santa Croce is 
one of the seven principal churches of Rome, and situated within the 
walls of the city, upon the top of Mount Esquiline. 7 At the time it was 
built by Constantine, that part of Rome was much more inhabited than 
in the present day, as is evident from the adjacent ruins. " It now stands 
quite alone, with no buildings near it, amidst groves, gardens and vine- 
yards; and the number of mouldering ornaments and tottering arches 
that surround it, give it a solemn and affecting appearance. It is remark- 
able for the antiquity of its shape." 8 

This church, built by Constantine at the express request of Helena, 

1 Or her son, — Platina, from Ambrose. 

a Butler, Platina. 3 Antiquities of Rome. 

4 Platina's Lives of the Popes. 6 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 

Burton, Roman Itinerary. 8 Burton. 



ST. IIELENA. 147 

derived its name of " Santa Croce" from the circumstance of the Em- 
press herself depositing in it some pieces of the holy cross and a part of the 
earth taken from Mount Calvary; some of the latter was placed under 
the church, and the rest over the roof. 1 Here also were deposited two 
of the thorns, one of the thirty pieces of silver, a part of the cross of the 
Good Thief, one of the nails used at the crucifixion, and the superscrip- 
tion on the cross in Hebrew, Greek and Latin ; the latter, which was in 
red letters and much damaged, was as follows :— 

"hiesvs nazarenvs rex ivdaeor." 

This last relic was discovered in A. D. 1492, during the Pontificate of In- 
nocent VIII, in a little leaden chest, where it had been concealed above 
one thousand years. 

Without more minutely describing the interior of this beautiful church, 
suffice it to say, that by a door or gate you descend to the Chapel of St. 
Helena, into which no female is permitted to enter except on the 20th of 
March, which is the anniversary festival of the consecration of the church, 
and then no men are admitted. The ceremony of the consecration of 
Santa Croce was performed by Pope Sylvester. 2 

Constantine erected many other churches : 3 one of these was dedicated 
to the two martyrs, " St. Marcellinus the Presbyter and St. Peter the 
Exorcist, and stood in the Via Labicana." 4 He built a church to St. 
Paul, and also another to St. Peter, which last stood not far from the 
heathen temple of Apollo, and was erected at the instigation of St. Syl- 
vester. This famous person had been banished by the tyrants, but when 
Constantine favoured Christianity, he left Mount Soracte, whither he had 
retired, and came to Rome, where he obtained great influence with Con- 

1 Keysler, Eustace, Burton. 

2 It was in the year 1001, when Rubens was staying at Rome, that he executed 
a commission he had received from the Archduke Albert to paint three pictures 
for the Church of Santa Croce di Gierusalemme, connected with which he had 
formerly borne the cardinal's hat. One of these pictures represented the Find- 
ing of the Cross, and the others, the Crucifixion, and the Crowning with Thorns. 
These pictures, which were very remarkable as specimens of the style of paint- 
ing of this great master in the art at that period of his career, were brought to 
England in 1811, and sold the following year by auction. [Noel's Translation of 
the Life of Rubens.] The Crucifixion afterwards, on its way by sea to Count. 
Woronzow, at St. Petersburgh, was unhappily lost. Rubens painted twelve pic- 
tures, representing events from the history of Constantine, formerly in the Or- 
leans Gallery, but now scattered through different private collections in England, 
several of which display great beauties. " These sketches — for they are not finished 
pictures — were brought to England with the Flemish portion of the Orleans Gal- 
lery, in 1792. The history of this grand acquisition, the dangers encountered 
by the purchaser, a Mr. Slade, and the artifices to which he had recourse in their 
removal ; the indignation and threats of the French painters, crowding round 
the packages, and in despair to see this rich collection carried out of their coun- 
try, would form a striking chapter in the biography of pictures. The twelve 
sketches of the history of Constantine were valued, as a series, at £1000 ; but 
no one having come forward to purchase them, they were unfortunately, we must 
allow, dispersed among various purchasers, and brought double the sum." — Mrs 
Jamison's Notes on the Life of Rubens. 

3 Milner. 4 Platina. 



148 ST. HELENA. 

stantine. He was made Bishop, A. D. 314, as successor to St. Mel- 
chiades. 

" The Constantinian Church," called the Lateran, was also built and 
richly endowed by Constantine. 

These churches, like those in the East, were distinguished for their 
holy relics. One, that of St. Giacomo Scossa Cavalli, is said to have de- 
rived its name from the following circumstance. A cart-load of relics, 
among which was the stone designed for the sacrifice of Isaac, another on 
which Christ stood when among the doctors in the Temple, some holy 
earth which had been brought from Jerusalem, and even, it is said, some 
drops of the blood of our Saviour, were despatched from the church of 
Santa Croce di Gierusalemme to that of St. Peter ; when stopping at this 
spot, neither whipping nor any other means could induce the horses to go 
a step further. Accordingly the occurrence was considered a divine inti- 
mation, and the whole of the relics were deposited on the spot. ' 

In the Church of St. Peter in Vinculo, at Home, are said to be the 
identical chains which bound St. Peter, both at Rome and at Jerusalem : 
at the latter city, St. Helena found a relic of the chain by which she 
judged St. Peter had been fastened, and therefore determined to offer it 
to the Pope, who possessed another fragment. It was received by him 
with much pomp and solemnity, and it is said that the identity was proved 
by the two chains uniting of their own accord when brought in sight of 
each other! 

Pope Julius II. (A. D. 1503-1513) pulled down half of the Old Church 
of St. Peter's at Rome, and laid the foundation-stone of the new edifice 
himself. It was built on the plan of Michael Angelo. 2 Of the dome of 
this celebrated building, built under Pope Sixtus V., the following par- 
ticulars are interesting, inasmuch as they commemorate our heroine, the 
Empress. It is said of the great artist, Michael Angelo, that having 
heard some one praise the Rotunda as an unparalleled work, he observed 
" that he would not only build a dome equally large, but build it in the 
air." He made good his assertion : the honour of the undertaking and 
design of the dome at St. Peter's is due to him. This amazing struc- 
ture rests on four pillars, of ninety palmi in diameter, each of which is 
adorned with a white marble statue, twenty-two palmi high, without the 
pedestal. The first is St. Veronica, by Francesca Mochi; the second is 
St. Helena, by Andrea Bolgi; the third, St. Andrew, by Du Quesne; 
and the fourth, St. Longinus, 3 by Bernini, who also designed these orna- 

1 Keysler's Travels. 2 Roscoe's Leo the Tenth. 

3 The sacred lance, which pierced our Saviour's side, was formerly preserved 
with the statue of Longinus, but it is now kept in the general repository for relics 
over the figure of St. Veronica. It is said that St. Helena discovered the iron of 
the lance. It was subsequently divided into two parts : the point was kept in 
the imperial palace at Constantinople, the other division in the Church of St. John 
of the Rock. It seems to be uncertain whether the division was made by Constan- 
tine II., who wished to give the point to Charlemagne; or whether Baldwin, while 
he was King of Constantinople, pawned it to the Venetians, from whom it was 
recovered by St. Louis, King of France. However, in 1492, Bajazet II., Sultan 
of Constantinople, sent the part which did not contain the point, as a present to 
Innocent VIII.; a oribe to induce him not to protect his brother Zezim, who dis- 



ST. HELENA. 149 

ments. 1 Over eacli of these four statues is a fine tribune, or gallery, 
from whence, several times in the year, the relics, which are kept in a 
particular chapel, are exposed to public view. 

In the vaults under the pedestals of each of the four statues an altar 
is erected, on which the history of the saint whose statue stands over it 
is represented in mosaic-work, by Fabio Christofore, from the designs of 
the famous Andrea Sacchi. Under these four altars are steps leading 
down to the other subterraneous vaults, which are full of excellent mosaic, 
that being the only work which could be proof against the dampness of 
the place. This mosaic-work was formerly the pavement of the whole 
Church of St. Peter. 2 

It has been objected that two out of the four principal niches in this 
church, those which are formed in the vast piles that support the dome, 
and which of course face the altar, should be appropriated by saints 
whose very names exist only in a legendary tale, viz., Saints Veronica 
and Longinus, while a third is devoted to St. Helena, whose statue, 
though she was a princess of great virtue and eminent piety, might stand 
with more propriety in the porch near the statue of her son; for in the 
early ages of Christianity the honour of being deposited within the church 
was reserved to martyrs, and Constantine had merely requested to be 
allowed to lie in the porch of the Basilica of the Apostles, which he had 
himself erected in Constantinople. On this account it is thought that 
the statues of apostles, the principal martyrs, doctors, and bishops, should 
alone have been admitted into St. Peter's Church. Eustace remarks that 

puted the throne. The Pope sent a solemn embassy to receive it, and for a long 
time it was preserved in the Vatican. In 1500 it was placed in a magnificent 
chapel, -where was the statue of Longinus; but when this chapel was destroyed 
by Julius II. it was removed to the case of St. Veronica, where it has remained 
ever since. Benedict XIV., in one of his works, assures us, that while he was 
canon of this Basilica, he had the exact measure of the point sent him from the 
Chapel Pioyal at Paris ; and that, after comparing the two together, they cor- 
responded so exactly that no manner of doubt could remain as to the identity of 
the two relics. These relics were exhibited on Good Friday and other days. No 
one is allowed to visit the place where they are kept, unless he has the rank of a 
canon. And those sovereigns or illustrious persons who have sought this privi- 
lege have first the honorary dignity of canon conferred upon them. — Burton's 
Antiquities of Rome. 

1 Bernini, by the niches he made in the pillars for the above-mentioned four 
statues, and especially by the stairs along the foundations of the pillars, for go- 
ing down into the vaults, or Sacra Grotte, was censured for having weakened the 
foundations to a great degree, and soon after a cleft discovered itself in the cu- 
pola, occasioned by a violent clap of thunder. Bernini was near losing his head 
for this unlucky accident, but saved it by his success in removing and erecting 
the obelisk in the Piazza Navona. Michael Angelo, the designer of this dome, was 
apprehensive of such an accident; and earnestly desired that these four pillars, 
with their foundations, should not be in the least altered or meddled with. In 
the year 1700 this cleft in the cupola was widened by an earthquake. [Keysler's 
Travels.] The four supports of the dome of St. Peter's Church are about 240 
feet in circumference, and 178 in height. Each of the four has two niches in 
front, one above the other. In the lower ones are statues of saints, and some 
of the most precious relics are preserved in them. St. Veronica has her veil or 
sudarium, St. Helena has part of the true cross. — Burton. 

a Keysler. 
13* 



150 ST. HELENA. 

" the pictures, or rather the mosaics which have been substituted in the 
place of the original pictures, may be objected to on the same ground as 
the statues, as many of them represent persons and events totally uncon- 
nected with the sacred records, and sometimes not to be met with even in 
the annals of authentic history." The candid and judicious Erasmus 
would have the subjects of all the pictures exhibited in churches taken 
exclusively from the Holy Scriptures, while the histories of saints, when 
authentic, he thinks might furnish decorations for porticos, halls, and 
cloisters ; had this advice been followed, many useless, some absurd, and 
a few profane representations might have been banished from the sacred 
place. 

Shortly after her return from Palestine, Helena was taken ill. " The 
Empress, perceiving her last hour approach, gave her son excellent in- 
structions concerning the government of his empire, and the manner in 
which he should regulate his own affairs and those of his family, both 
temporal and eternal. She commended to his care the legacies which 
she had made to virgins, and to the Church, as well as certain institutions 
for poor persons and widows, and the rewards which she was desirous of 
making her servants and the army, in proportion to their merits and the 
time they had been in her service. As for the territories she possessed 
in the Eastern and Western Empire, she bestowed them all on the young 
Caesar, the child of Constantine, who himself remained seated near her, 
kissing her hands, and bathing them with his tears. She was more 
afflicted with the sorrowful necessity of quitting him, than with the 
approach of death ; and, collecting all her remaining strength, she gave him 
final advice, worthy of a mother and of a Christian princess. When she 
had communicated all her wishes for his august family and for the em- 
pire, she spoke no more, except to supplicate mercy from God : at length, 
in the midst of the consolations of her faith, full of hope and merit, she 
departed, to receive in heaven a crown more glorious than that of which 
death had deprived her." * 

The spot where Helena expired was, according to some writers, Nico- 
media, by other accounts Constantinople, and some fix it at Rome. There 
is no division as to the day of her death, which is admitted to have been 
August 18th; but there is a difference of opinion as to the date, some 
thinking she died in the same year the cross was discovered, others making 
it one year or two years later. Thus, A. D. 326 is given by some as the 
date, A. D. 327 by others, and A. D. 328 by the rest. 

If in 326 this event is fixed, it was the eightieth year of the Empress' 
age, and the twentieth of her son Constantine's reign. 

" Constantine, anxious to pay to the last mortal remains of his mother, 
that respect which he had never refused her during her life, 2 caused the 
mournful ceremony of her funeral to be performed with extraordinary 
pomp and magnificence. By his orders, a porphyry vase, said to be the 

1 Butler. 

a Constantine paid to his dying mother, "as he had always done, every duty 
of filial piety. His tenderness and respect for so worthy a mother, is one of the 
finest traits of this prince's life." — Crevier. 



ST. HELENA. 151 

largest and richest in the world, was made, to contain, not only the ashes, 
but the whole body of this princess. This vase or urn consisted of one 
entire piece of porphyry, and the carvings upon it represented a lion and 
horsemen, with various other figures in bas-relief, without any heatheuish 
emblems, these ornaments being in a middle taste of architecture, 
resembling those on the triumphal arch of her son Constantine. Accord- 
ing to Crevier, the body of St. Helena, having been enclosed in this 
splendid urn, was conveyed by Constantino's directions to Rome, to be 
deposited in the tomb of the Emperors, within the walls of the city, and 
magnificent fetes were held in Rome for the space of three months upon 
this mournful occasion. Constantine, afterwards thinking that a monu- 
ment to her own memory alone would be more worthy of this excellent 
parent, erected a round building outside the city, to receive her honoured 
remains. This splendid mausoleum was situated near the road to Pales- 
trina, on the Via Lavieana, about three miles from Rome. 

According to Nicephorus and others, Helena's body was removed, two 
years after, from this mausoleum to Constantinople, and buried there ; and 
Constantine, afterwards dying in Nicomedia, was interred with her. In 
the pretty Church of the Panthenorator, at Constantinople, may be seen 
the tombs of Constantine and St. Helena, each raised about eight feet 
high on a column, the summit terminating in a point cut into four sides, 
in the fashion of a diamond. "While Constantinople was in the power 
of the Venetians, they took the body of St. Helena from its tomb, and 
carried it to Venice, where it is now preserved entire. They attempted 
the same thing with the body of Constantine, but did not succeed : the 
two tombs are of red jasper, and to this day two broken parts are to be 
seen on that of Constantine, where they made the attempt." ' 

As, however, Nicephorus did not live till the fourteenth century, later 
historians have preferred believing the Torre Pignattara, at Rome, to be the 
tomb of this famous Empress; 2 and Bower, in his History of the Popes, 
tells us that this costly sepulchre, made by Constantine, had been plun- 
dered by thieves in the time of Innocent II. (A. D. 1143), and the body 
carried off by them from its tomb. An earlier account places the removal 
of Helena's body from Rome in 849 : yet are the remains of the Em- 
press even to this day worshipped in the Church of the Franciscans at 
Rome, called Ara Cceli, where they are said to repose in a rich shrine of 
porphyry, under the high altar, as related by several authors, 3 though no 
record exists of the truth of this assertion. Pope Anastasius IV. found 
the porphyry sarcophagus, 4 said to have contained Helena's remains, and 
" which, being dug up under Torre Pignattara, was damaged in several 
places. The Pope removed it to the Lateran Church, intending it for his 
own tomb, for he was a regular canon of that church. At his death, 
Anastasius was buried in the Lateran, in this tomb of porphyry : another 
account says, the Pope was disappointed of his intention, and that it has 
remained empty ever since. The ruins of the vast mausoleum of St. 

1 Travels of La Broquiere, translated by Johnnes. 

a Burton's Rome : Keysler. 

3 Keysler, Butler. * Bower's Hist, of the Topes. 



152 ST. HELENA. 

Helena were cleared by Pope Urban VIII. (1644), the structure having 
been much damaged by the barbarians. This Pope, desirous to preserve 
the memory of Helena, caused a chapel to be erected there, which he 
consigned to the protection of St. John de Lateran. From the Church 
of San Giovanni Laterano, the splendid urn is said to have been removed 
to its present resting-place, the Vatican Museum, by Pope Pius VI. : it 
rests there in the Sala a Croce Greca, with the Sarcophagus of St. Con- 
stantia, the daughter of her rival Theodora, the second wife of Con- 
stantius. 1 

In the year 1095, Notkar, Abbot of Hautvilliers, in the diocese of 
Rheims, wrote a history of the translation of the relics of St. Helena 
from Rome to that abbey, which was performed in 849, previous to the 
spoliation of her sepulchre by thieves. That author gives an authentic 
account of several miracles, wrought through the intercession of the saint, 
of some of which he testifies himself to have been an eye-witness, and the 
rest he learnt from the persons on whom they had been performed. 2 Part 
of this work, which Mr. Butler assures us is well written, was published 
by the Messieurs de Ste. Marthe and by Mabillon, and almost the whole 
is inserted by the Bollandists in their great work. The entire MS. copy 
is preserved at Hautvilliers, with an appendix, written by the same au- 
thor, containing an account of two other miracles performed by the relics 
of this saint. 

" In 1095, 3 Stephen of Blois and Adela, daughter of King William 
the Conqueror, with several members of the noble House of Blois, at- 
tended the religious festival of the removal of St. Helena's honoured 
remains to a place which had been prepared for them in the neighbour- 
hood of Hautvilliers. The ceremony. took place, October 28th, 1095, on 
the festival of St. Simon and St. Jude. Notkar, Abbot of Hautvilliers, 
who presided on this occasion, and was the original suggester of that 
posthumous honour to the sainted Empress, thus describes the pageant : 
'• At last the long-desired day arrived, and fell on a Sunday ; all the great 
lights of the monastic order attended, with many archbishops and bishops ; 
and of the secular powers were present Earl Stephen and Adela, his wife, 
Constance, daughter of Philip, King of France, wife of Hugh, Earl of 
Treves, Stephen's brother, with many others, respectable in their way, 
whom I shall not here enumerate. Not only France, but even Lorraine, 
delighted to send her pious sons to the obsequies of such a queen ; for 
how should not all Christianity applaud her to whom all are so greatly 
indebted ! There is a certain place, in prospect of all Hautvilliers, called 
by the inhabitants Montescola, where, on the high brow of a hill, a pro- 
montory stretches out into a convenient flat, fit for the reception of such 
venerated limbs. Here a tent was erected, large enough to accommodate 
the Earl and Countess, with their family, and all those of the sacred 

1 The present state of Torre Pignattara, as described by a traveller of our own 
times, is a small church, and a still smaller dwelling for the priest who has the 
care of the church, both being enclosed in a round circular brick wall of very bad 
architecture. 

a Butler. 3 Ibid. 



ST. HELENA. 153 

order. A consultation was then held as to what hour of the day the 
ceremony should take place, and we agreed that it should be after the 
mystery of the Holy Resurrection had been celebrated by Hugh, Bishop 
of Soissons; this being over, brethren of proper gravity were selected, 
who carried the relics of so glorious dust to the appointed place of inter- 
ment, where the golden urn was opened, and enclosed with the bones 
was found this writing : ' Corpus Sanctas Helenas Reginae, matris Con- 
stantiui, sine capite. The body of St. Helena the Queen, the mother of 
Constantine, saving the head/ The sacred pledges were then deposited 
in another vase and re-interred n &c." The noblest person there present, 
Earl Stephen, who as highest in rank, was appointed to present the 
offering at the tomb ; and he still further gratified the monks of Haut- 
villiers, by granting them some valuable privileges and immunities. 
Many miracles were said to be afterwards wrought at this tomb, which 
became no small source of gain to the Monastery of Hautvilliers. 1 

After the death of Helena, 2 Constantine showed a particular kindness 
to Constantia, the daughter of Theodora. This princess, after the deaths 
of her husband and son, accepted an invitation to her brother's court, 
where she had first shared in the iufluence of Helena over the Emperor, 
and subsequently, during the absence of the Empress-Mother in the 
East, had filled her place near his person. After death had deprived 
Constantine of his much-cherished parent, Constantia acquired an entire 
ascendency over her brother. Constantine also raised the brothers of 
Constantia, and their children, in dignity at this period ; and the event 
proved how much more advantageous had been the previous severity of 
Helena, even to the princes themselves, than the indulgence of the Em- 
peror; for by raising them, he gave umbrage to his own sons, who were 
no sooner in possession of the kingdom by his death, than they ruthlessly 
massacred their uncles and cousins. 3 

The Arians of this period owed their protection to Constantia's influ- 
ence with the Emperor, which she exerted as much as possible to amelio- 
rate their sufferings. Arius, the founder of the sect had been excommu- 
nicated, and forbidden to enter Alexandria. The Princess afterwards 
was instrumental in procuring his recall, through the instrumentality of 
one of his followers, a priest, supposed to have been Acacius, who suc- 
ceeded Eusebius of Csesarea. This personage insinuated himself into the 
Princess' confidence, and at length succeeded in making her believe 
that the disgrace of Arius had been brought about by his bishop's malice, 
through envy at the esteem in which he was held by the people, and 
that he was not tainted with the belief for which he had been condemned 
by the Council of Nice. Constantia adopted his views very forcibly, but 
dared not address Constantine on the subject. At last being seized with 
a severe illness, in which she feared her death approaching, she desired 

1 Lives of the Princesses of England, by Mary Anne Everett Green. 

2 " After Helena's death, Constantine erected to her honoured memory, in the 
middle of a great square in Constantinople, her own statue and his, with a large 
cross in the middle. He likewise erected her statue at Daphne, near Autioch, 
and several other places in Italy." — Butler. 

3 Crevier. 



154 ST. HELENA. 

the Emperor, as Ler last request, to admit the priest to Lis favour, whom 
she had honoured with her own friendship, and listen to his conversation 
in matters of religion; adding, that she feared his government would 
receive a fatal shock from the persecution and banishment of innocent 
people. Constantine, who was tenderly attached to his sister, promised 
to attend to her request, and admitted the priest from that time into his 
confidence; who so effectually worked upon the Emperor's mind, that he 
secured the recall of Arius from exile; who, after making a written 
declaration of his faith, conformable to the doctrines laid down in the 
Council of Nice, and swearing it to be his true belief, was again received 
by Constantine into the Christian Church. 1 

The Church of St. Constantia at Rome is situated near that of St. 
Agnes (without the Porta Pia, or Nomentana) : it was formerly the 
Mausoleum of the Princess Constantia, and at a period still earlier than 
that, a temple of Bacchus. " The tomb of this British princess, or rather 
the temple in which she was interred, is of circular form, supported by a 
row of coupled columns, and crowned with a dome. Behind the pillars 
runs a gallery, the vaulted roof of which is encrusted with ancient mosaics, 
representing little genii playing with clusters of grapes, amidst the wind- 
ing tendrils of the vine. The tomb of the saint, a vast porphyry vase, 
ornamented with various figures, once stood in a large niche, directly 
opposite the door; but as the body had been deposited many years ago 
under the altar, the sarcophagus was transported to the Museum of the 
Vatican. The Sala a Croce Greca, in the Vatican, containing the above 
relic of antiquity, is supported by columns, and paved with ancient mo- 
saic : it is furnished with statues, and lined with bassi-relievi. 

"Both the removal of the sarcophagus and the placing the body of the 
Princess as a saint under the altar of the mausoleum, then converted into 
a church, were performed by orders of Pope Alexander the Fourth. 

" The sarcophagus of St. Constantia, formed with its lid of one block 
of red porphyry, is beautifully ornamented in basso-relievo, with little 
infant Cupids employed in the vintage, and bordered with tendrils and 
arabasques, — an appropriate device for the locality to which the last 
remains of Constantia were consigned by her brother, — the Temple of 
Bacchus, and where for ages they remained undisturbed." 2 

St. Helena 3 was canonized for the great act of bringing the true cross 
from Jerusalem to Italy. 

" Herself in person went to seek that sacred cross, 
"Whereon our Saviour died ; which found, as it was sought, 
From Salem unto Rome triumphantly she brought." 

Drayton's Poly Olbion. 

The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was celebrated by the 

1 History of the Arians. a Eustace's Tour. 

3 The Greeks venerate Constantine and Helena together on the 21st of May. 
In the old style Holy Rood Day was celebrated on the 26th of September. The 
day of the death of the Empress has received the name of St. Helen's Day. The 
Church of Rome has ranked this pious princess among her saints, and celebrates 
her festival by an express service. 



ST. nELENA. 155 

Roman Church ' on the 14th of September, and also at Jerusalem by the 
Greeks and Latins as early as the year 335. The first occasion of this 
festival was the miraculous appearance of the cross to Constantine, and 
the subsequent discovery of that sacred wood by the Empress-Mother, 
St. Helena. 2 The 14th of September is called Holyrood Day. In former 
times every church had its rood-loft, which was a gallery across the nave, 
at the entrance of the chancel of the church, on which the holy rood or 
cross, when perfectly made, had the image of our Saviour extended with 
that of the Virgin Mary and St. John on each side. This representation 
alluded to a passage in St. John (chapter xix. v. 26), Christ on the 
Cross saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by. This 
was called the rood, and it was placed over the screen which divided the 
nave from the chancel of our churches, and conveyed to our ancestors 
a full type of the Christian Church. The Church militant was repre- 
sented by the nave, the Church triumphant by the chancel, intimating 
that all who would go from the one to the other, must pass under the 
rood, or in other words, carry the cross and suffer affliction. Instances 
of the rood may be seen in Norwich and Winchester Cathedrals. 

That in Norwich Cathedral was erected by Bishop Hart. It is at pre- 
sent the organ loft, on which was erected the principal rood or cross : 
beneath it was situated Holyrood Chapel, in which Jesus' mass was sung 
once every week. 

To the Chapel of the Sepulchre, in Winchester Cathedral, which is a 
dark chapel below the organ stairs, there used formerly to be great resort 
in Holy Week, to witness the Mass of the Passion of our Saviour, as 
yet celebrated in the Roman churches on the Continent. On the walls 
of this chapel are discovered rude paintings of the taking down from the 
cross, the lying in the sepulchre, the descent into limbus, and the 
appearance of our Lord to Mary Magdalen, from whose lips the word 
"Rabboni" is seen to proceed, with kindred subjects. 

Since the 8th century the festival of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross 
has been removed by the Latin church to the 3d of May, which is called 
Holy Cross Day, or the Day of the Invention of the Cross ; it being 

1 In the year G42, Heraclitus restored to Mount Calvary the true cross, which 
had been carried off, fourteen years before, by Cosroes, King of Persia, upon his 
taking Jerusalem from the Emperor Phocas ; in memory of this event the festi- 
val of the Exaltation of the Cross was afterwards held on the l-4th of Septem- 
ber. — Ency. Brit. 

2 The ecclesiastical emblems with which St. Helena is represented are these ; 
she is crowned, with a large cross in her arms, of a tall stature, and she is also 
occasionally depicted with a beard, and tied to the cross. S. Borgia de Cruce Veli- 
terna, c. 27, &c. At the foot of the Velitern Cross, beneath the figure of our 
Lord, is a circular compartment, with a half-figure of a woman, having a nimbus 
round the head, the hair curled, and adorned with a band, as if of pearls, and in 
a rich jewelled dress. This may be conjectured to be the Empress Helena, to 
whom was granted the favour of finding the true cross, and who is represented 
in several ancient crosses. On the reverse side, in the centre compartment, is 
an Agnus Dei, enamelled upon a field of gold, without nimbus or banner, which 
are usually found in this emblem of the Lamb which is so frequent in early 
Christian art. In the oldest examples, as in this, the colour of the cross is red. — 
Pugiti's Glossary of Ecclesiastical Architecture. 



156 ST. HELENA. 

supposed that the event took place about the month of May, or early 
in the spring of the year 326. ' 

One of the earliest Christian writers has composed two hymns for the 
occasions of Holy Cross Day and Holy Rood Day, and they may be 
found in the Roman breviary. One of these alludes to the passion 
flower, which has obtained the name of the Holyrood flower, not only 
because it flowers at this period of the year, but because the leaves, ten- 
drils, and different parts of the flower, have been supposed, by the reli- 
gious, to represent the instruments of our blessed Saviour's passion; 
whence the name Passi Flora, and the great veneration in which it is held 
in some foreign countries : the five stamens have been compared to the 
five wounds of Christ, the three styles to the nails by which he was fixed 
to the cross, the column which elevates the germs to the cross itself or to 
the pillar to which he was bound, and the rays of the nectary to the 
crown of thorns. 2 The common passion flower, which lasts a long while 
in blossom, generally goes out of flower after Holyrood. 

In the primitive ages of Christianity, before churches for divine worship 
were common, service was often performed under a cross raised in some 
convenient place. Such was St. Paul's Cross in London, where the prac- 
tice continued until the Reformation. Such was also the antique cross in 
the Market-place of Halifax, Yorkshire. The cross being a sign used in 
civil contracts, it became usual to touch or swear by it before reading and 
writing in transactions relative to public and private business, and crosses 
were erected in the open places of towns and cities, where even to this 
day fairs, marts, statutes, and markets are held. 3 Sermons were preached 
at these spots, and public pageants or processions usually commenced from 
them or terminated there : hence Edward I. erected crosses at every place 
where the corpse of Queen Eleanor rested on its way to interment, desiring 
those spots to be considered holy. Every churchyard in early times had 
its cross, on which the bodies of the dead were placed while the service 
was read ; every turning in the road had also its cross, and the boundaries 
of parishes had the same marks. 4 

At Leighton Buzzard, in Bedfordshire, is a relic of considerable 
antiquity, in the form of a Gothic cross of stone, beautiful even in decay ; 
it stands in the open area of the Market-place, and is supposed to have 
withstood the operations of time for more than 500 years, but by whom 
or on what occasion it was erected, even tradition does not attempt to 
reveal ; its form is pentagonal, in height thirty-eight feet : the upper 
story is divided into five niches, each containing a statue ; the first is in 
an episcopal habit, the second represents the Virgin and Jesus, the third 
appears to be designed for St. John the Evangelist, the others are too 
mutilated to be defined. 

In the centre of the square at Halifax, a little higher in the street than the 
cross, stood a Maypole used by the Romans in their celebrated festival called 
Floralia, which usually commenced on the 4th of the Calends of May. 
The feasts held at that time were called Maxima, and were kept by costly 
banquets and oblations. Constantine the Great forbade these entertain- 

1 Butler, Burton. a Hortus Anglicus. 

3 Green's Hist, of Worcester. 4 Clavia Calendaria. 



ST. HELENA. 157 

mcnts, but they were renewed by Ilonorius and Arcadius in the first year of 
their empire, and in Britain, under other forms, have descended to our own 
times. 

Nothing can exceed the affection the Britons testified for the memory 
of their excellent Empress, St. Helena. To this patroness of churches 
innumerable sacred edifices have been dedicated throughout our island; 
to enumerate the whole of them would be impossible. Far and wide, 
edifices, crosses, roads, and other monuments, have been raised to per- 
petuate her goodness. 

In Colchester, the native place of St. Helena, most things have refer- 
ence to her and to her finding the cross; the streets in particular exemplify 
this, the main street representing the shaft or body of the cross, and Head 
Street and North Hill the transverse part of the same. 1 In the parish 
of St. Nicholas, in that city, there is a cave bearing this princess' name; 
and the chapel, a place of great antiquity, is said to have been founded 
by the Empress herself. Just within the entrance of Colchester Castle 
are also exhibited some clumsy images of Helena and Constantine, carved 
in stoue, but manifestly of modern date. A curious testimonial to the 
Empress exists in King Henry the Fifth's Charter to the City of Col- 
chester, the initial letter of which represents St. Helena before the cross 
finely illuminated. 2 

In London, where Helena held her court alternately with Colchester, a 
religious edifice, to the east of Crosby Square, was founded by William 
Fitzwilliam, in commemoration of the discovery of the cross by St. Helena. 
It is said to have been built A. D. 1210, and was called "the Priory of 
St. Helen's the Less." The Church of St. Helen's the Great stands 
north-east of Threadneedle Street. 

In Yorkshire 3 abundant traces exist of St. Helena; in York four 
churches bear her much-loved name : attached to one, an ancient edifice 
in the parish of Leeds, was a medicinal well, yet in existence. There 
was also Burgh Wallis, near Doncaster, St. Helen's Foord, at Wetherby, 
and St. Ellen's Chapel, at Wilton, which last was founded by Sir William 
Bulmer in the reign of Henry the Eighth; one in Werkdyke, another at 
Kilusea, in the Holderness wapentake, with the churches of Skipwith, 
Stillingfleet, Thoranby, in the Ouse and Derwent wapentake. In Corn- 
wall there is a church dedicated to St. Helen, and the Church of Elstow 
or Helenstowe in Bedford, since turned into a monastery, is also named 
as having this Queen for its patron saint. 

There are churches dedicated to St. Helena at Derby, Warrington, East 
Medina in the Isle of Wight, Norwich, Worcester, and Abingdon. St. 
Helen's, Worcester, is one of the most ancient edifices in that city. 4 The 
ancient hospital of St. Helen, at Abingdon, when refounded in 1583, 
received the denomination of Christchurch. 5 In Monmouthshire churches 
exist of St. Helen's name : there is also one at Wilton, a town situated 
in a vale on the Humber, dedicated to her. 

St. Helen's Porch is yet in existence in the mean church of St. Helen's, 

1 Morant's Hist, of Colchester. « Britton and Brayley. 

8 Allen's Hist, of York. « Green's Worcester. l Magua Brit. 

14 



158 ST. HELENA. 

Auckland, a village so called from the name of the Empress. In 1844, 
in the month of April, the tongue of the bell of St. Helen's, Auckland, 
dropped out, which, after having been divested of the rust which had been 
accumulating from time immemorial, was found to bear this inscription : 
" Sancta Helena, ora pro nobis," also a bishop's mitre and crest, with the 
initials A. and W. at right angles. Very superstitious ideas were formerly 
attached to bells. 1 

At the east end of the side-aisles in Durham Cathedral are gates leading 
into the east transept, commonly called the Nine Altars. One of these 
altars was dedicated to St. Aidan and St. Helena. 2 

Tliis interesting part of Durham Cathedral is thus described: — 

" In the eastern or highest part within the church were the nine altars, 
dedicated and erected in honour of several saints, and of them taking 
their names, as the inscriptions thereof will declare; the altars being 
placed north and south, one from another, along the front of the church, 
in an alley the whole breadth thereof. In the middle of which front 
was the Altar of the Holy Fathers, St. Cuthbert and St. Bede, having 
all the aforesaid altars equally divided on either hand, on the south four, 
and on the north four. 

" On the south were the following : — 

" 1. The Altar of St. Oswald and St. Lawrence. 

" 2. The Altar of St. Thomas of Canterbury and St. Catherine. 

"3. The Altar of St. John the Baptist and St. Margaret. 

"4. The Altar of St. Andrew and St. Mary Magdalene, being the 
outermost altar towards the south. 

" On the north side of St. Cuthbert and St. Bede's Altar, were these 
four following : — 

" 1. The Altar of St. Martin and St. Edmund. 

" 2. The Altar of St. Peter and St. Paul. 

" 3. The Altar of St. Aidanus and St. Helena. 

" 4. The Altar of the Holy Archangel, St. Michael, being the outer- 
most towards the north. 

" Over each of these altars is a window representing the history which 
is attached to it. On the north side, the third was the picture of St. 
Aidane and St. Helena, with the like windows and lights as the rest, 
presenting the picture of St. Aidane in his episcopal attire, with a cro- 
sier in his hand, whose soul after his death was represented to be carried 
to heaven in a sheet by two angels. In this were some part of the 
history of Christ, and the picture of a king and two other saints ; as also 
the picture of St. Helena in a blue habit, she being a princess; which 
contained the story of the religious of all orders of her sex, and her re- 
sorting often to their churches, and the picture of Our Lady and the 
Angel Gabriel appearing to her, and the Holy Ghost overshadowing her, 
with the lily springing out of the lilypot; and underneath the middle 
stone-work were four angels. Above were four turret windows, with four 
apostles ; and the picture of God Almighty above all, in another little 
window, with Christ in his arms." 3 

1 Fosbrooke's British Monachism. a Hutchinson's Durham. 

3 This extract is taken from the "History and Antiquities of Durham Cathe- 



ST. HELENA. 159 

It would almost appear that the subject of the Conception had been 
expressly selected for St. Helen's window, from the fact that a slur had 
been thrown on her bright fame by the second marriage of her husband, 
and that the lily springing forth from the lilypot was an emblem of her 
innocence. 

"A Popish chapel, dedicated to St. Helen, was in use in Queen Eliza- 
beth's time, in Halifax in Yorkshire, near the remains of which, in the 
present day, is a remarkably fine well, bearing also the name of the Em- 
press. Very near St. Helen's Well, a spot yet bears the name of Halli- 
well, or Holy Well Green. 1 It was common among the early Christians 
to dedicate remarkable springs to particular saints, to whose merits any 
cures they might perform were attributed. Upon the saint's day whose 
name the well bore, the people were wont to assemble to make their of- 
ferings or vow to her, a custom which was afterwards changed to that of 
adorning the well with boughs and flowers, and entertaining themselves 
with music, dancing, eating cakes, and drinking ale. The Chapel of St. 
Helen, at Halifax, is now converted into a cottage, but, it can be seen, 
has been a place of greater account : in one of the walls they show you 
a large stone, which is called the Cross," continues the historian of this 
place, "which is sometimes visited by strangers, who at the same time 
inquire for the well; and from the behaviour of some of them, the in- 
habitants concluded they were Papists, whose zeal brought them hither 
to behold this once famous place, of which their forefathers were despoiled. 
Clarke Bridge, Halifax, seems to have been first built by the clergy, to 
enable them to pass more conveniently from the church to the Holy Well 
on the opposite bank." 

The worship of springs and fountains is of very ancient date, as ap- 
pears from heathen authors and Christian monuments, and among many 
other British customs, was kept up by the Saxons long after their con- 
version to Christianity. This appears from injunctions and canons made 
to forbid them. In 967, it appears from some constitutions of Edgar, 
taken from a Saxon penitential : " We teach that priests shall abolish all 
heathenish superstitions, and forbid the worship of wells, and of trees, 
and of stones." Here an allusion is also made to the stone altars erected 
in the fields, of which many remains may be found. The same peni- 
tential contains a prohibition against "vowing or bringing alms or offer- 
ings to any wells, or stones, or tree, or to any creature, but only in God's 
name to God's church." A Saxon homily of Bishop Lupus, mentions 
some, who, being seduced by the devil, in their afflictions vow their alms 
either to well or stone; and in another, he cautions men against worship- 
ping wells or trees. This foolish custom of worshipping and bringing 

dral," to which the reader is referred for an account at length of the other eight 
altars. 

1 " I have the copy of a deed without date, but -which, by the witnesses, must 
have been executed between the years 1279 and 1324, wherein William de Osete 
grants an assart in Linley to Henry de Sacro Fonte de Staynland, which shows 
that the. name of the above Holy Well is no new conceit, but a real piece of an- 
tiquity, perhaps much older than the time of this deed." — Watson's Hist, of 
Halifax. 



160 ST. HELENA. 

offerings to trees and fountains continued after the Conquest, as appears 
by a synod at London in 1102, by the constitutions of Walter, Bishop 
of "Worcester, in 1240, and the injunctions of Oliver, Bishop of Lincoln, 
in 1280; which two last forbid the worshipping of Cerne and Roll's 
Well, St. Edward's Well, near St. Clement's at Oxford, and St. Lau- 
rence's Well, near Peterborough. 1 The superstitious veneration paid to 
St. Winifred's Well needs scarcely to be mentioned. 2 

After the accession of Constantine to the imperial dignity, Helena is 
said to have revisited her native country. It is on record, that she did so 
after her return from Palestine, which is unlikely at her extreme age : at 
an earlier date she most probably returned to Britain, either to visit her 
grandson Constans, or to inspect the government which Constantine had 
entrusted to his delegates. Kennet, in his " Parochial Antiquities," de- 
clares, that " after Helena discovered the cross, and on her return home- 
wards, she built a castle of her own name in Silesia, and another in 
Spain, near Callacium, which we now call Cales; and first arriving in 
Ireland, which was but a short cut from Spain, and thence steering for 
North Wales, landed at Aber Segont, near that fair walled town which 
we now call Caernarvon, where Constans, her grandchild, had built a 
city." Within the old town there still stands a little chapel, and a deli- 
cate spring of running water close by, both bearing St. Helen's name, in 
memory of her landing there ; and from the gates of this city is both a 
crossway and also a cross of stone, standing in Bivio. Between the two 
ways, ariseth a great causey of hard durable stone, for such is the nature 
of those stones that they will not wear away, the way on each side being 
worn out knee-deep, which the inhabitants call Sam Elen Weddaw, i. e., 
St. Helen the Powerful's Causeway, and runneth southward through the 
rocky ragged straits of the mountains, even to the south parts of the 
kingdom." 3 

The noted Sam or Llwybr Helen, the Causeway or Path of Helen, 
which is a road through North Wales, supposed to have been made by 
this Queen, 4 is thus described by Pennant : — " This road is now entirely 
covered with turf, but by the rising of it, is in most parts very visible ; 
beneath are the stones which form it, and it extends in all its course to 
the breadth of eight yards. There are tumuli near it in various places, 
it being very usual for the Romans to inter near their highways. Close 
to the part in question (where this road appears for the first time on a 
common) is one, in which were found five urns ; the whole materials of 
it are composed of burnt earth and stones, with several fragments of 
bricks, which had been placed round the urns to keep them from being 
crushed." 

The causeway of Helen also ran under the summit of the vast Berwyn 
mountains, being there an artificial road called Fordd Helen, or Helen's 
way, 5 and those also in Llanbadyr Odyn in Cardiganshire, and from 

1 Mag. Brit. a Morant's History and Antiquities of Essex. 

3 Keunett's Parochial Antiquities. * Pennant. 

* Pennant, from the annotation on Camden. 



ST. HELENA. 161 

Brecknock to Neath in Glamorganshire, passed under the name of this 
great Empress. Pen Caer Helen is a lofty hill, about twenty-four miles 
from Segontium : Pennant ascended to the summit, in hopes of discover- 
ing more of Helen's noted road, but without success. Mars ar Helen, 
or the Field of Helen, is also the name given to another part which 
Giraldus considered the course of the road. Of the Via Devaua, the 
same author remarks : " There is no Roman road so perfect as this ; like 
the Via Occidentalis, it bears the name of Sarn Helen. The foundation 
of almost all the roads through "Wales have, in fact, been attributed to 
St. Helena, the mother of Constantine. 1 

1 Kennett's Parochial Antiquities. 



11 



CARTANDIS- 1 

Eugenius slain in battle — Decree of Maximus — Prayers of the widow and noble 
ladies — The Picts interrupt their devotions — Appeal of Cartandis to Maximus 
— His generous sympathy — He sends her escorted to Carrick — Attack of Pict- 
ish robbers — She returns to the Emperor— Enmity of the Picts — Their remon- 
strances — Scene of the Picts and Cartandis before Maximus — Her agony and 
entreaties — Success of Cartandis through the good feeling of the Emperor. 

The history of this Queen forms a touching episode in the life of Maxi- 
mus the Roman, who ruled in Britain in the fourth century. She was 
the wife of Eugenius I., King of Scots, — a princess of the blood royal 
of Wales, and is cited as an instance of connubial affection. 

Eugenius was slain in a fatal battle fought against Maximus, who had 
invaded Scotland ; and his body which was discovered among heaps of the 
dead, was interred, by order of that leader, with the honour and ceremony 
usually bestowed on the funeral of Roman princes. Afterwards an edict 
was passed, that by an appointed day all the Scots should quit that part 
of the kingdom, under penalty of death or imprisonment : they were like- 
wise required to surrender their houses and possessions to such persons as 
were nominated by the Romans. In consequence of this decree, many 
took refuge in Ireland, the Western Isles, Norway, and Denmark ; while 
the few who remained were either taken prisoners by the Picts, then in 
alliance with the Romans, or enlisted from pure despair in the service of 
their enemies. 2 

Cartandis, widow of the deceased King, learning that his remains had 
been consigned to the earth under another form of religion than her 
own, 3 was distressed with apprehensions for the repose of his departed 
spirit, and from the moment of his funeral obsequies had remained con- 
stantly on the spot, which contained the relics of all that was dear to 
her, occupying herself in particular prayers and devotions for the soul 
of the dead. Many noble ladies were with her, who, joining in her 
mourning, united their own devotions with hers, for their husbands and 
other relatives who had been slain with Eugenius in defending their 
country, and were interred at the same place. 

While occupied in this manner, the Picts, who had first instigated 
Maximus to issue the edict of banishment, arrived at the spot and inter- 
rupted them in their sorrowful duty, by acquainting Cartandis with the 
penalty attached to the neglect of the Roman mandate. The supplica- 

1 This is a variation of the name of Cartismandua. 2 Holinshed, Scott. 

3 She was probably of the sect of Pelagius, who was a Welshman. 

(162) 



CARTANDIS. 163 

tions of Cartandis and her attendants to be left unmolested were vain ; 
the fierce Picts insisted on their complying with the decree, and enforcing 
their commands with violence, they ill-treated and insulted many of these 
noble and unfortunate women. 

The Queen, accompanied by some of her British relatives, two gentle- 
women, and a male attendant, repaired in person to the presence of Max- 
imus, to complain of the indignity which had been offered her. She 
addressed a pathetic remonstrance to that general, soliciting his permis- 
sion for herself and her maidens to continue in that country during the 
remainder of their lives, even though it were in the most servile state, 
provided that at their death they might be interred in the same grave as 
their husbands. Maximus, compassionating the misfortunes and affliction 
of Cartandis, whose conjugal affection he could not but admire, assigned 
to her the city of Carrick for an abode, with certain other revenues for 
the maintenance of her royal dignity. 

The generous Maximus also appointed some persons to attend Cartandis 
for her protection while on her progress to a village not far distant from 
Carrick : scarcely, however, had the Roman escort safely conveyed her 
thither, and departed, after receiving her farewell and thanks, having, as 
they thought, left her in security, than a band of Pictish robbers on 
horseback was encountered by the ill-fated party. The fierce troop put 
the groom of Cartandis to the sword, and not only roughly treated her 
female attendants, but despoiled them and their royal mistress of all they 
possessed. Cartandis, however, succeeded in effecting her escape back to 
Maximus ; the Roman general being converted from a foe into a friend. 
He received her with all the honour and respect due to her rank and suf- 
ferings, and, as nearly as he was able, restored to her the value of the 
property of which she had been deprived : the remainder was soon after 
regained, upon the capture of the robber Picts, who were punished with 
death for the outrage which they had committed. 

Cartandis, on this, became a mark for the enmity of the Picts, when 
they learnt how kindly Maximus had received her, and how severely he 
had punished those who had despoiled and insulted her. They sent a 
deputation of nobles of their nation to complain to him of his having 
thus taken part against them in favour of a woman who was their enemy, 
and, moreover, a prisoner and in their power. For her sake, they said 
Maximus ought not to have put to death men who were friends of theirs, 
and allies of Rome : they proceeded to require that, in conformity with 
the proscription which had been issued, Cartandis should be despoiled 
of her possessions, and detained a captive in Britain. 

Cartandis was herself present at the interview of Maximus with the 
Pictish chieftains, and had to support a scene of great trial, before the 
Roman general surrounded by the powerful soldiers of the empire, as she 
listened as these barbarians proceeded in discussing the future destiny 
they desired to be awarded her. When they came to that part of their 
embassy which concerned her imprisonment, and she perceived their de- 
sign was to send her to Wales, her former country, in opposition to that 
wish nearest her heart, she broke forth into a passionate lamentation, be- 



164 CARTANDIS. 

wailing in piteous accents her miserable fate, and entreating rather that 
her life might be offered upon her husband's tomb. 

Raising her clasped hands to Maximus, she besought that generous 
prince, in the most earnest and pathetic manner, that he would be pleased 
to permit her either to pass the sad remainder of her present widowed 
state in the manner she found most conformable to her feelings, or else 
to take it from her at once. At this moving spectacle, all present, the 
Picts alone excepted, were deeply affected, and the sorrow-stricken Queen 
obtained her supplicated boon : the request of the Pictish nobles was 
refused, and Cartandis, having a portion assigned to her, suitable to her 
royal birth and dignity, received permission to depart into whatever 
quarter of the country she pleased, and was suffered to live from that 
time forward, under the protection of the mighty Roman name, unmo- 
lested and undisturbed. 1 

1 Holinshed. 



HELENA AP EUDDA. 

Parentage of Helena — The aspirants for her hand — Her Father wishes her mar- 
riage — Maximus proposed — Conan objects, but consents at length — Deputa- 
tion — Character of Maximus — He arrives at Southampton — Promise, and cere- 
mony of Marriage — Dream of Maxen-Wledig, a Welsh romance — Caernarvon — 
The Fort — The Will — Kynan-Meriadec of Armorica — Maximus and his bride 
at Treves — St. Martin of Tours — The devotion of Helena to him — Gratian's 
fate — Ursula and the "Eleven Thousand" victims — Successes of Maximus — 
Reverses — His death, and that of his son Victor — The Tears of Helena, and 
her Fountain. 

Though Helena ap Eudda is less distinguished in British History 
than her illustrious relative and sainted namesake, the mother of Con- 
stantine, her character, and the particulars of her life, are not devoid of 
interest, as affording an instance of female influence, and as one of the 
earliest patrons of Christianity. 

The father of Helena was son of Caradocus, Duke of Cornwall, the 
ancient tin country, and grandson of the Asclepiodatus, 1 or " Bran ap 
Llyr," 2 so noted in the times of Constantius. Eudda, 3 or Octavius, as 
he was denominated by the Romans, Duke of the Wisseans, 4 had married 
Guala, sister of St. Helena, and received with her, as a bridal dowry, the 
kingdom of North Wales, it being the second time that territory had 
been conveyed to a new line of monarchs, by marriage with a daughter 
of that royal house. Eudda and Guala, by their union, connected in one 
the families of Wales and Cornwall ; and the vast possessions thus united 
under their control, were destined to become, in process of time, the 
marriage-portion of their only child Helena, 5 whose noble inheritance 
caused her to be sought by many an aspiring adventurer. The young 
princess herself, who was born at Caer Segont, or Caernarvon, possessed 
qualifications which rendered her worthy of her lofty destiny. The in- 
creasing years of her aged parent made him anxious to see this child, 
who was his sole heir, settled in marriage with some prince, whose merits 
entitled him to succeed to the regal dignity ; and fearing, least in the 

1 Rowland's Mona Antiqua. 

2 Bran ap Llyr is celebrated for his valour, and as being the ancestor of Ar- 
thur and all those heroes who contended against the Romans, Saxons, and Danes 
for the freedom of their mountain-district. — Geoffrey of Monmouth, Lappenberg. 

3 Or Ederus, sometimes written Paternus or Padarn, Edern ap Padarn, or 
" with the crimson cloak." — Owen's Cam. Biog. 

4 The Wiccii, or people of Worcester, over whom Venutius had formerly r*>igned. 
• Warrington, Gibbon, Pennant. 

(165) 



166 HELENA AP EUDDA. 

event of his own death, without some previous arrangement to that effect, 
other aspirants to the crown might spring up, Eudda called a council of 
state, to take the subject into consideration. The king inquired of his 
assembled nobles, which of his family they would prefer to reign over 
them at his death, and the majority were desirous of securing peace to 
the nation, by bestowing the Princess Helena on some noble Roman. 
Several members of the British senate dissented in favour of Conan Me- 
riadec,' the king's nephew, who was present, whom they wished to be- 
come their ruler. Caradocus, Duke of Cornwall, son of Trahewrne, and 
cousin of St. Helena, gave his opinion in favour of Maximus, the Roman 
senator — a person not only allied to the imperial family, and educated in 
Rome, but his own cousin, being a son of Llewelyn, his father's brother, 
and equally related with himself to the royal family of Britain. This 
proposition met with general approbation, except from Conan, who him- 
self aimed at the crown, and was much displeased at it : the matter, how- 
ever, being arranged in favour of Maximus, Conan consented that Mau- 
ritius, his son, should become the ambassador of Eudda to the imperial 
court. 

Accordingly, Maximus was duly informed by Mauritius of the intentions 
of King Eudda to honour him with the hand of the lovely Helena, with 
the reversion of the crown in perspective. The embassy met with an 
honourable reception at the court of Rome, where Mauritius was nobly 
entertained ; and Maximus greatly pleased with the brilliant prospect that 
awaited him, undertook the journey into Britain. 2 

Flavius Clemens Maximus was born in a second marriage of Llewelyn, 
the brother of Coel, with a Roman lady. The place of his birth is dif- 
ferently stated : Spain, Rome, and Britain contend for the honour. His 
near relationship to the imperial family had caused him to be educated at 
the capital with great care, 3 and by bis bravery he rendered himself 
worthy of the distinction at which he eventually arrived. 4 The poets 
write of him as a robber-chief; but lofty talents he no doubt possessed. 
Long before Maximus was invited to Britain by Eudda, he had made that 
country his residence, having been called thither to repel the Picts and 
Scots : his noble conduct towards Cartandis, which has been named in her 
Life, gives a favourable view of his character. 

At the time when the British embassy reached him, Maximus was 
contending with Gratian and Valentinian for a third share in the Roman 
Empire, which they had refused to accord him : his progress towards the 
island-home of his future wife was marked by the subjugation of several 
cities of the Franks, while his train was speedily augmented by a large 
number of followers. This popular chief arrived in safety at South- 
ampton. But his expecting father-in-law regarded his martial array as 
having a hostile aspect, and, struck with sudden fear, ordered his nephew 
Conan immediately to raise an army to oppose his further progress. 5 

The tidings of the misunderstanding which had arisen in the mind of 

1 Palgrave. 2 Polwhele's Cornwall. 3 Daniel. 

* In Lluyd's Brev. of Brit, be is called "the Robber of Richborough." 
5 Geoffrey of Monmouth. 



HELENA AP EUDDA. 167 

Eudda having reached the Roman prince, he consulted with Mauritius as 
to the course which it would be best for him to take. They determined 
to send twelve aged men, bearing olive-branches in their hands, to Conan. 
This embassy was admitted to a hearing, and it was stated that Maximus 
had come from the two Emperors of Home on a visit, the object of which 
was peace and not war; when Conan and others persuaded Eudda to 
desist from his contemplated hostilities. After this, Maximus was con- 
ducted by Conan to London, where he had an interview with Eudda. 
Prior to their meeting, Caradocus and Mauritius had privately consulted 
with the King, when the former strongly urged the suit of Maximus, and 
ended with the following words : " Should you refuse him, what right 
could you plead to the crown of Britain against him ; for he is the cousin 
of Constantine, and the nephew of King Coel, whose daughter Helena 
possessed the crown by an undeniable right V ' The King acquiesced, 
and the people, being uniformly in favour of the match, Maximus was 
promised the hand of Helena ap Eudda, and the rich inheritance she 
derived from her parents. 2 

The nuptial ceremony took place at Caernarvon, where Eudda resided and 
held a royal court. There yet exists, in the Welsh language, a fabulous story 
relating to this circumstance, which is called " the Dream of Maximus." 

Lady Charlotte Guest has devoted herself to the translation of this 
national composition, " The Dream of Maxen Wledig, or The Glorious," 
of which the following is an extract. That very interesting tradition, so 
poetically connected with the subject of this biography, is composed in 
these terms : — 

" Maxen Wledig was Emperor of Rome, and he was a comelier man, 
and a better and a wiser, than any emperor that had been before him. 
While hunting one day, he fell asleep and had a dream, in the course of 
which he came to an island, the fairest island in the whole world; and he 
traversed the island from sea to sea, even to the farthest shore of the 
island : valleys he saw, and steeps and rocks of wondrous height, and 
rugged precipices; never yet saw he the like. And thence he beheld an 
islaud in the sea, facing this rugged land ; and between him and this 
island was a country of which the plane was as large as the sea, the 
mountain as vast as the wood ; and from the mountain he saw a river that 
flowed through the land, and fell into the sea. And at the mouth of the 
river he beheld a castle, the fairest that man ever saw ; and the gate of 
the castle was open, and he went into the castle; and in the castle he saw 
a fair hall, of which the roof seemed to be all gold; the walls of the hall 
seemed to be entirely of glittering precious gems ; the doors all seemed to 
be of gold; golden seats he saw in the hall, and silver tables; and on a 
seat opposite to him he beheld two auburn-haired youths playing at chess ; 
he saw a silver board for the chess, and golden pieces thereon. The gar- 
ments of the youths were of jet-black satin, and chaplets of ruddy gold 
bound their hair, whereon were sparkling jewels of great price, rubies and 
gems, alternately with imperial stones ; buskins of new cordovan leather 
on their feet, fastened by slides of red gold. 

1 Geoffrey of Monmouth. a Roberts's Notes to British History. 



168 HELENA AP EUDDA. 

" And beside a pillar in the hall he saw a hoary-headed man, in a chair 
of ivory, with the figures of two eagles of ruddy gold thereon ; bracelets 
of gold were upon his arms, and many rings upon his hands, and a 
golden torque about his neck, and his hair was bound with a golden 
diadem. He was of powerful aspect; a chess-board of gold was before 
him, and a rod of gold and a steel file in his hand, and he was carving out 
chess-men. 

" And he saw a maiden sitting before him in a chair of ruddy gold : 
not more easy than to gaze upon the sun when brightest, was it to look 
upon her by reason of her beauty. A vest of white silk was upon the 
maiden, with clasps of red gold at the breast ; and a surcoat of gold tissue 
was upon her, and a frontlet of red gold upon ber head, and rubies and 
gems were in the frontlet, alternating with pearls and imperial stones ; 
and a girdle of ruddy gold was around her. She was the fairest sight 
that man ever beheld. 

" The maiden arose from her chair before him, and he threw his arms 
about the neck of the maiden, and they two sat down together in the chair 
of gold ; and the chair was not less roomy for them both, than for the 
maiden alone. And as he had his arms about the maiden's neck, and his 
cheek by her cheek, behold, through the chafing of the dogs at their 
leashing, and the clashing of the shields as they struck against each other, 
and the beating together of the shafts of the spears, 1 and the neighing 
of the horses and their prancing, the Emperor awoke. 

" And when he awoke, nor spirit nor existence was left him, because 
of the maiden whom he had seen in his sleep, for the love of the maiden 
pervaded his whole frame. Then his household spake unto him, ' Lord,' 
said they, ' is it not past the time for thee to take thy food ?' Thereupon 
the Emperor mounted his palfrey, the saddest man that mortal ever saw, 
and went forth towards Home. 

" And thus he was during the space of a week. When they of the 
household went to drink wine and mead out of golden vessels, he went 
not with any of them ; when they went to listen to songs and tales, he 
went not with them there ; neither would he be persuaded to do anything 
but sleep. And as often as he slept, he beheld in his dreams the maiden 
he loved best ; but, except when he slept, he saw nothing of her, for he 
knew not where in the world she was. 

" At length Maxen sent for his wise men, and told them of his dream ; 
and by their advice he sent messengers into different parts of the world, 
to discover the place and lady of whom he had dreamt. At the end of 
the year they returned without success, and he was very sorrowful. Then 
Maxen went to the spot where he had slept, and pointed it out himself. 
1 Behold, this is where I was when I saw the dream, and I went towards 
the source of the river westward.' On which thirteen messengers set 
forth on the track prescribed, and at last, in the great ship, they crossed 
the sea, and came to the island of Britain. And they traversed the island 

'When sleep had first come upon Maxen, " his attendants stood and setup 
their shields around him upon the shafts of their spears, to protect him from the 
sun, and they placed a gold enamelled shield under his head. And so Maxen 
slept." To this the passage above refers. 



HELENA AP EUDDA. 169 

until they came to Snowdon. ' Behold,' said they, ' the rugged land that 
our master saw.' And they went forward until they saw Anglesey before 
them, and until they sawArvon 1 likewise. 'Behold,' said they, ' the 
land our master saw in his sleep.' And they saw Aber Sain, 2 and a castle 
at the mouth of the river. The portal of the castle saw they open, and 
into the castle they went; and they saw a hall in the castle. Then said 
they, ' Behold the hall which he saw in his sleep.' They went into the 
hall, aud they beheld two youths playing at chess, on the golden bench. - 
And they beheld the hoary-headed man beside the pillar, in the ivory 
chair, carving chess-meD. And they beheld the maiden sitting on a chair 
of ruddy gold. The messengers bent down upon their knees — ' Empress 
of Kome, all hail!' 'Ha, gentles,' said the maiden, 'ye bear the seem- 
ing of honourable men, and the badge of envoys. 3 What mockery is this 
ye do me?' 'We mock thee not, lady; but the Emperor of Rome hath 
seen thee in his sleep, and he has neither life nor spirit left because of 
thee. Thou shalt have of us, therefore, the choice, lady — whether thou 
wilt go with us and be made Empress of Borne, or that the Emperor 
come hither and take thee for his wife ?' ' Ho ! lords,' said the maiden, 
' I will not deny what ye say, neither will I believe it too well. If the 
Emperor loves me, let him come here to seek me.' 

"And by day and night the messengers hied them back, and when 
their horses failed they bought other fresh ones. And when they came 
to Borne, they saluted the Emperor, and asked their boon, which was 
given them, according as they named it. ' We will be thy guides, lord/ 
said they, ' over sea and over land, to the place where is the woman whom 
best thou lovest; for we know her name, and her kindred, and her race.' 
And immediately the Emperor set forth with his army, and these men 
were his guides. Towards the island of Britain they went, over the sea 
and over the deep. And he conquered the island from Beli, the son of 
Monogan, and his sons, and drove them to the sea, and went forward even 
unto Arvon. And the Emperor knew the land when he saw it. And 
when he beheld the Castle of Aber Sain, ' Look yonder,' said he ; ' there 
is the castle wherein I saw the damsel whom I best love;' and he went 
forward into the castle and into the hall, and there he saw Kynan, the 
son of Eudov, and Adeon, the son of Eudov, playing at chess. And he 
saw Eudov, the son of Caradawc, sitting on a chair of ivory, carving 
chess-men. And the maiden whom he had beheld in his sleep, he saw 
sitting on a chair of gold. ' Empress of Borne,' said he, ' all hail !' and 
the Emperor threw his arms about her neck; and that night she became 
his bride. 

" And the next day in the morning, the damsel asked her maiden- 
portion. And he told her to name what she would, and she asked to 
have the island of Britain for her father, from the Channel to the Irish 
Sea, together with the three adjacent islands, to hold under the Empress 
of Borne ; and to have three chief castles made for her, in whatever 

1 Caern-arvon. a Segont. 

3 Each of them wore one sleeve on the front of his cap, as a sign he was a mes- 
senger, that no harm should be done him in passing through hostile lands. 
15 



170 HELENA AP EUDDA. 

places she might choose on the island of Britain. And she chose to have 
the highest castle made at Arvon. And they brought thither earth from 
Rome, that it might be more healthful for the Emperor to sleep, and sit, 
and walk upon. 1 After that the two other castles were made for her, 
which were Caerlleon and Caermarthen. 

" Then Helen bethought her to make high roads from one castle to 
another throughout the island of Britain. And the roads were made. 
And for this cause are they called the roads of Helen Luyddawc, that 
she was sprung from a native of this island, and the men of the island of 
Britain would not have made these great roads for any save her." 2 

Caernarvon, the scene of this romance, afterwards became celebrated 
as the birthplace of Edward II., the first Prince of "Wales. The river 
Seiont, from which the place derived its ancient name, rises in the heart 
of Snowdonia, and forms the lakes of Llandberis in its passage, which 
rather inclines to the southwest, till it turns abruptly to the north to reach 
the sea beneath the mighty towers of Caernarvon. The ruins of Segon- 
tium are yet distinguishable on a planted hill near its exit, where the 
view of Caernarvon, with its castle and the coast of Anglesey, across a 
great arm of the sea, is hardly to be paralleled for beauty. 3 Near the 
steep bank of the river Seiont, at a small distance from the castle, is an 
ancient Roman fort. Near the corner of one of the walls, is a heap of 
stones, 4 the ruins of a tower the foundation of which was accidentally 
discovered some years ago. This place seems intended to secure a land- 
ing-place from the Seiont at time of high water; and Pennant says : "I 
was informed that in Trer Beblic, on the opposite shore, had been other 
ruins, the work of the same people." At a small distance above this, 
and about a quarter of a mile from the Menai, is the ancient Segontium, 
to the use of which the fort had been subservient. It forms an oblong, 
of very considerable extent, seemingly about six acres, placed on the 
summit of rising ground, and sloping down on every side. It is now 
divided by the public road ; but in several parts are vestiges of walls ; 
and in one place appears the remnant of a building made with tiles, and 
plastered with very hard and smooth mortar ; this seems to have been 
part of a hypocaust. At present a public road passes through this sta- 
tion, beyond which the Romans had only a small outpost or two in this 
country. 5 

At Segontium the Empress Helena ap Eudda had a chapel of her 
own, of which the author of the " Mona Antiqua" assures us the re- 
mains were in existence in his days. 6 A well, near the fort, even now 
bears the name of the princess, and some very slight remains of ruins 
are to be seen adjacent, which tradition informs us is the spot upon which 
the chapel of the Empress stood. 

A Triad has been preserved, which goes at some length into the expe- 

1 Geoffrey of Monmouth ; Carew's Cornwall. 

2 This great work was apparently the same as that commenced by St. Helen, 
the Empress. 

3 Skene's Rivers. ' Pennant. * Pennant's Wales. 
6 Fiowland's Mona Antiqua. 



HELENA AP EUDDA. 171 

ditinn undertaken by " Kynan Meriadee and his sister Helen, surnamed 
Luyddawc, 1 or Helen of flighty Hosts, the children of Euddav," for the 
purpose of supporting the claim of Maximus to the imperial throne. 
They raised an army of 60,000 men in Britain, and proceeded with it 
across the sea to Armorica, A. D., 883 : the desolation caused by this ab- 
straction of its inhabitants from the island, is said to have been the 
remote cause of the Saxon invasion. 2 This is another version of the 
colonization of Bretagne, noticed previously. 

The great reputation Maximus had acquired in Britain by his military 
successes against the Picts and Scots, had gained the affections of the 
people, whose predilection was still further confirmed by his marriage 
with Helena. From this time they identified their own views with his, 
and he was constrained to accept the purple in accordance with their 
wishes. 3 The accession of Maximus is placed in the year 383 ; he after- 
wards declared to St. Martin, that " he had accepted the Empire with 
regret, but that he was prepared to defend by the sword that diadem 
which had been bestowed by Heaven." 

After his marriage, Maximus, with the flower of the British youth, 
who had rallied round his standard, had returned with his bride into 
Gaul, 4 where he established his court at Treves, and in defiance of his 
imperial opponents, assumed to himself the dignity of an Emperor of 
Spain, Gaul, and Britain. Gildas remarks, that he "stretched out his 
wings" from the seat of his empire, "to Spain and to Italy," levying 
taxes on the barbarous nations by the mere terror of his name ; and the 
moderation of the government of the Usurper, during whose reign not a 
single enemy or rebel perished, otherwise than in fair and open warfare, 
forcibly demonstrates the willing allegiance of the nations over whom he 
ruled. 

St. Martin, who had, A. D. 374, been elected Bishop of Tours, and as 
an apostle, had diffused the light of Christianity throughout Gaul, de- 
stroying all the temples of heathenism, was received with every mark of 
respect and honour by the Emperor Valentinian, then in that country. 5 
When the holy bishop waited upon the Emperor at Treves, Maximus 
made him sit at his table with the most illustrious persons of his court. 
He was placed at the right hand of the Emperor, who, in drinking, com- 
manded his servants to 'give him a cup, that St. Martin might receive it 
again from him ; but the bishop bestowed it in his turn on the priest who 
had accompanied him on his journey, — a holy boldness, which, far from 
displeasing, gained him the favour of the Emperor, and of his whole 
court. 

The wife of Maximus, the beautiful Helena, who now held the rank 
of Empress of the West, insisted on waiting upon the venerable priest 
whilst partaking of his scanty repast, as if she were of mean estate. Of 
this pious British woman, Sulpicius Severus writes thus, in his Dialogue 
on the Virtues of St. Martin : " By day, and by night, the Queen hung 

' Conan and Helen are here represented as brother and sister. 

a Lady C. Guest's Notes to the Mabinogion. 3 Palgrave. 

4 Warrington. ' Ency. Brit 



172 HELENA AP EUDDA. 

upon the words of Martin, and like her example in the Gospel, washed 
the holy man's feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her 
head. Martin, whom no woman had ever approached to touch, could not 
escape from her assiduities, or rather submission. She thought not of 
the wealth of a kingdom, the dignity of empire, the crown and the pur- 
ple ) nothing could remove her from the posture she had taken at his 
feet, till having asked her husband's consent, they together compelled 
Martin to accede to her request, that she herself, without the aid of ser- 
vants, might be permitted to prepare him a banquet. The blessed man 
was reluctantly obliged to yield. The chaste preparations are made by 
the hands of the Queen, the seat is placed by her, the table drawn to it, 
the water supplied by her own hands ; she serves the food which she had 
cooked, and while he partakes sitting, she persists in placing herself on 
the floor at a distance, with the customary respect shown by servants, 
imitating their modesty and humility in all she does. Herself mixes the 
wine for him to drink, herself hands it to him ; and supper being finished, 
she collects the fragments and crumbs of the bread which he had par- 
taken of, rightly judging them, by the faith in her, to be more precious 
relics than an imperial banquet. Blessed woman ! deserving to be com- 
pared in piety with her who came from the ends of the earth to hear the 
wisdom of Solomon — if we consider merely outward history; but if we 
compare the faith of the Queen, which we may do, apart from the 
majesty of the mystery contained in the Scripture narrative, the one came 
to hear the wise man, the other obtained grace, not only to hear, but to 
serve. * * * The Queen, on this occasion, ministered like 

Martha, and heard like Mary." ' 

St. Martin employed his influence with Maximus to preserve the Pris- 
cellianists, who were persecuted by the clergy in Spain. The Bishop of 
Tours would hold no communion with men whose religious principles 
induced them to shed the blood of mankind ; and he obtained the lives 
of those whose death they had solicited. 2 

1 St. Martin introduced the monastic system into Gaul, and his example was 
followed by his relative, St. Patrick, the Hibernian apostle. Martin resided in a 
cell made of twigs' interwoven, and many of his disciples occupied caverns. No 
one had any property, or bought and sold, but all things were common. No art 
was exercised but writing, in which the juniors alone were occupied; the seniors 
devoting their time to prayer. They rarely left their cells, except to assemble at 
the place of prayer. They took their refection together, after the hour of fast- 
ing. None but the sick drank wine. St. Martin is frequently represented giving 
his cloak to a beggar, probably from having introduced the garb. Many of his 
followers were clothed with a stuff made of the bristles of ca?nels, a softer habit 
being esteemed criminal. These habits were anciently worn by British monks 
also, as well as those of Gaul, and hats formed of the same. The camblet cloth 
of a later period was made of goats' wool. 

The camels' or goats' hair shirt reached from the elbows to the knees : the 
hair material was worked into fine threads, and woven by weavers on purpose. 
One similar to them, belonging to Becket, was washed by his chaplain; they were 
commonly infested with vermin. 

The feet and legs were usually bare ; the Anglo-Saxons received their visitors 
by hospitably giving them water to wash their feet and hands, and wiping them 
with a towel. — Fosbrooke's Brit. Monachism. 

3 Ency. Brit. 



IIELENA AP EUDDA. 173 

Gratian, 1 then twenty-eight years of age, had made himself conspicuous 
by the protection of the Christians, for which he was hated by the whole 
heathen world, whose worship he intended to abolish utterly. 2 He was 
still contending for the Empire with Maximus, and sent Ambrose, Bishop 
of Milan, to him, to sue for a peace, to which Maximus seemed to incline, 
while, in reality, he appears to have conspired against the life of his 
enemy. As this is the greatest blot on the character of the Christian 
Maximus, it appears worthy of particular detail. 

Gratian had offended the veteran soldiers, by sending some Alans 
against Maximus, in preference to themselves, and numbers in conse- 
quence revolted to Maximus, who made them large promises of reward. 
This alarmed Gratian, who fled to Paris, whither Maximus, after defeat- 
ing the Alans, pursued his imperial foe, and fixed his camp without the 
city. After five days, occupied in slight skirmishes, with no particular 
advantage on either side, first the Moors, and then the rest of the army, 
deserted to the side of Maximus, and Gratian, with three hundred horse 
only, made his escape to Lyons, other cities refusing him admittance. 
Maximus, who aimed at his oppenent's personal destruction, followed with 
his army, but not succeeding by force of arms, had recourse to the fol- 
lowing stratagem. 3 He caused letters to be sent to Gratian, informing 
him that his wife was on her way to visit him. The unfortunate Prince 
crediting the information, repaired to the banks of the llhone, which runs 
by the city, to meet her, believing her to be approaching, and overjoyed 
in the prospect of their meeting. When he opened the litter, and ex- 
pected to clasp her in his embrace, he was treacherously murdered by 
Andragathius, an adherent of Maximus, who, with other ruffians, had 
been hired to assassinate him. By his death Maximus became undis- 
puted master of the Western Empire. 4 

This event has left a stain on the otherwise bright fame of the Empe- 
ror Maximus ; so imperfect is the virtue of the greatest hero of those 
times. 

Having rendered himself master of Gaul, Maximus colonized it with 
British soldiers, and next attempted to appease his envious rival Conan, 
who, jealous of his successful suit with Helena, and subsequent elevation 
to the Empire, had laid waste some of his territories in Britain. To 
silence this competitor, Maximus bestowed on him a portion of Gaul, 
called Armorica at that time, but after that date known under the name 
of Bretagne, or Little Britain. 5 This cession was made A. D. 384. 

1 A burgher of a British municipal town. — Orosius. 2 Echard. 

3 Echard's History of Rome. " Echard, Howel, Med. Hist. Angl. Palgrave. 

5 Dr. Lappeuberg, in his "England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings," remarks 
on this subject: "This settlement has given a name, as well as a distinct char- 
acter and history to the province of Bretagne. Though that country had, from 
the earliest times, by descent, language, and Druidism, been related to Britain, 
yet the new colonists, who were followed by many others, both male and female, 
served unquestionably to bind more closely and preserve the connexion between 
Bretagne and the Britons of Cornwall and Wales ; and but for this event, the 
heroic poetry of France and Germany had probably been without the charm cast 
over it by the traditions of the Sangraal, of Tristan and Iseult, and of Arthur and 
Merlin. But Britain was thereby deprived of her bravest warriors, and thence 
the more easily became an early prey to foreign invaders." 

15*- 



174 HELENA AP EUDDA. 

Maximus, after this, sent an embassy to Cornwall, to demand from the 
King the hand of his daughter Ursula, for Conan; and the young prin- 
cess, and a numerous train of British females, many of whom were 
married women, quitted for ever the shores of their native country. 
Abundance of fables have been written of their number, the adventures 
that befell them, and the glorious death they encountered from the savage 
Huns. 1 They were martyred near the Lower Rhine, and buried at Co- 
logne, where a tomb was erected over their remains, and a great church 
| built on the spot. 2 This well-known edifice became celebrated to all time 
for the tomb of St. Ursula, and her " eleven thousand" holy companions. 
St. Ursula, " who was the mistress and guide to heaven of so many holy 
maidens, whom she animated to the heroic practice of virtue, conducted 
to the glorious crown of martyrdom, and presented spotless to Christ, is 
regarded as a model and patroness by those who undertake to train up 
youth in the sentiments and practice of piety and religion." 3 

The sisters of the order of St. Ursula are, in the Roman Communion, 
the instructresses of young females, and their establishments, those of 
Ursuline Sisters, are well known all over the continent. 

In the poem we have before quoted, called " the Dream of Maxen," he is 
said to have spent seven years in Britain, and after that returned to Rome, 
making many conquests by the way in the countries through which he 
passed. He laid siege to Rome, but had made no progress at the end of 
a year, when succours from Britain reached him. These were " the bro- 
thers of Helen Luyddawc," with a small host of Britons, "and better 
warriors were in that small host than twice as many Romans." 

" And Helen went to see the hosts, and she knew the standards of her 
brothers. Then came Kynan, the son of Eudav, and Adeon, the son of 
Eudav, to meet the Emperor. And the Emperor was glad because of 
them, and embraced them. 

" Then they looked at the Romans as they attacked the city. Said 
Kynan to his brother, ' We will try to attack the city more expertly than 
this.' So they measured by night the height of the wall, and they sent 
their carpenters to the wood, and a ladder was made for every four men 
of their number. Now when these were ready, every day at mid-day the 
Emperors went to meat, and they ceased to fight on both sides till all had 
finished eating. And in the morning the men of Britain took their food, 
and they drank until they were invigorated. And while the two Empe- 
rors were at meat, the Britons came to the city, and placed their ladders 
against it, and forthwith they came in through the city. 

" The new Emperor had not time to arm himself when they fell upon 
him, and slew him, and many others with him. And three nights and 
three days were they subduing the men that were in the city and taking 
the castle. And others of them kept the city, lest any of the host of 
Maxen should come therein, until they had subjected all to their will. 

" Then spake Maxen to Helen Luyddawc : ' I marval, lady/ said he, 
' that thy brothers have not conquered this city for me.' ' Lord Empe- 
ror/ she answered, ' the wisest youths in the world are my brothers. Go 

1 Butler. a a. d 453. — Sigebert's Chronicle. 3 Butler's Lives of Saints. 



HELENA AP EUDDA. 175 

thou thither and ask the city of them, and if it be in their possession 
thou shalt have it gladly.' So the Emperor and Helen went and 
demanded the city. And they told the Emperor that none had taken the 
city, and that none could give it him, but the men of the island of Bri- 
tain. Then the gates of the city of Rome were opened, and the Emperor 
sat on the throne, and all the men of Rome submitted themselves unto 
him." 

How far the dream of Maximus is in accordance with the general facts 
of history it is difficult to say. There is no doubt that Maximus was one 
of the most heroic and successful of Roman emperors, and it is equally 
certain that Helena accompanied him in his wars abroad. Both Roman 
and British authorities concur in the narrative of his conquests and great 
enterprise.' 

Helena had three sons by Maximus, of whom Victor was the chosen 
companion of his martial expeditions. Publicius, his brother, retiring 
from the world, assumed the religious habit, and to him the Mother 
Church of Segontium was dedicated. " It stands about half a mile south- 
east of the town, and from its royal patron, who was canonized at his 
death, bears the name of Llan Peblic, or Publicius." 2 This church and 
the chapel of Caernarvon were bestowed by King Richard II. upon the 
nuns of St. Mary's at Chester, on account of their poverty. 

"The dress of Pabo post prydain, called the 'Pillar of Britain/ as 
seen on his tomb, is a specimen of that worn by a royal priest in the 
time of Publicius. Pabo, who was contemporary with the sons of 
Helena, and the founder of Llan Pabo in Anglesey, is clad in a long 
dalmatic, partly opened at the sides, and bordered with fur. Round the 
neck and down the front, is a border of lace, richly studded with pearls. 
St. Jestin ap Geraint, a prince of the Devonshire Britons, who lived a 
century later than Pabo, is habited in a cope, fastened on the breast with 
a rich fibula • beneath this he has a short mantle or scapular over his 
tunic. This mode of dress was of the highest antiquity, and remained 
in vogue for royal personages till the time of Henry V. In his right 
hand the saint holds a staff, not unlike the augural staff of the ancients." 3 

The brilliant career of Maximus was destined to a sudden close. Va- 
lentinian, on being driven from Italy by Maximus, obtained assistance 
from Theodosius, Emperor of the East, who subdued his hitherto suc- 
cessful rival at Aquileia, A. D. 388. The inhabitants of the city seeing, 
or fancying they saw, despondency in his hitherto buoyant spirit, aban- 
doned him in his first reverse, stripped the Emperor of his regal orna- 
ments, and carried him bound to Theodosius. The generous Emperor 
would have pardoned him, but those who surrounded him, perceiving the 
clemency he designed to execute, hurried Maximus from his presence, 
and ordered his head to be cut off, even without the Emperor's mandate. 4 

Thus fell Maximus, the first to bear the name of Wledig, or " Illus- 
trious," — a surname equivalent to that of Emperor, afterwards borne by 

1 Palgrave. 3 Pennant. 

3 Smith and Mcyi'ick's Costumes of Britain. * Eehard 



176 HELENA AP EUDDA. 

tbe Roman princes of his family in Britain : his dominions were an- 
nexed by Theodosius to his own, and afterwards transmitted to his son 
Honorious, who became Emperor of the West. 1 

Victor, son of Maximus, had been slain with his father at Aquileia, 
and some of his most dreaded relatives and friends were put to death as 
an example: the rest were pardoned; " so that," says the Chronicle, 
" under so merciful a conqueror, they felt not that they were conquered." 2 

The wife and daughters of Maximus seem to have been taken prisoners, 
probably at the surrender of Aquileia. Theodosius sent for them out of 
their confinement, settled an honourable pension upon them for their 
lives, and charged "a near kinsman of their own" to take care of their 
interests, and see that nobody oppressed them. 3 This statement differs 
from the one given in our national histories and traditions, from which 
it would appear that Helena was in Britain when Maximus died. The 
spot on which the Empress received the fatal tidings of the death of her 
husband and son, is still pointed out in Wales, 4 in the beautiful vale of 
Festiniog, where the springs called Fynnon Helen are supposed to have 
been derived from her tears. 

One of the sons of Helen had entered the cloister, a second died a 
violent death abroad ; for the third, Cunetha, it was reserved to transmit 
the honoured title of Wledig, with the maternal inheritance, to his 
children, among whom it was divided at his death. The original patri- 
mony of Cunetha was in Cumberland and some neighbouring districts; 
and the Triads celebrate his praise, as being the first in this island who 
granted lands and privileges to the Church. 5 Wales was divided by Cu- 

1 Warrington, Howel, and Daniel. 

2 Such of these princes as were driven by the Saxons from their possessions 
embraced a religious life, and were ranked with the children of Bran and Brechan, 
under the appellation of "the three holy families of Britain." Theodoric, [Owen's 
Cambrian Biography,] son of Tethwald, King of Caermarthen in Wales, resigning 
his crown, settled as a hermit at a spot since known as Tintern. In that place, 
surrounded by rocks, he designed to pass the remnant of his days in solitude and 
peace ; but the success of the Saxons compelled him to arm in defence of his 
country, and he was slain at Mathern, near Chepstow, by a mortal wound in the 
head. His body was buried on the spot where he fell, and Bishop Godwin saw 
his remains, which had been deposited in a stone coffin. [Stillingfleet and PoweL] 
At a later period Tintern was a place of refuge for two other monarchs, who also 
left the spot to encounter a violent end : Kilwulf, King of Wessex, being dragged 
thence by his subjects, against his will, a. d. 610, to act once more as their leader; 
and Edward the Second, who fled there from the pursuit of his guilty queen, 
Isabella. Marcella, daughter of the slain hero, Theodoric, hermit of Tintern, 
named Olaf King of Ireland, became mother of Brechan, who inherited her estates 
in Wales ; so that Caermardhin took from him its ancient name of Brechonia, or 
Breconia, in British Brechniock, in English Breknock: [Powel; Girald. Camb. :] 
thus an Irish historian remarks that, "Brecknock town and Brecknockshire have 
caused the glory of Ireland, that gave them the name of honour, which they hold 
to this day ; and Ireland to glory in them, that gave their king's son, Marcella, 
their lady, and all that country in her right." [Hanmer's Chronicle.] 

3 Echard. 

4 Girald. Camb, s Sir John Price. 



HELENA AP EUDDA. 1(7 

netha among his sons; and its several provinces yet bear the names of 
those early British princes : Cardigan, especially named as a part of their 
grandmother Helena's territory, was so called from Caredic, son of Cu- 
netha. 1 Of the whole family, Eneon Urdd, or "the Honourable," was 
most distinguished. His son, Caswallon Caw Hir, or the "Long- 
Handed," fixed his royal abode in Mona in 443 ; and, as the eldest 
branch of the Cynethian family, received homage from the princes, his 
contemporaries. 

1 Owen's Cambrian Biography. 



ROWENA. 

Vortigern, hoping to establish order in Britain, invites Hengist and Horsa — Arri- 
val of the Saxons— The feast at Thong Castle— The fatal Was-heil— Rowena's 
beauty — Dress of Saxon ladies — Marriage of Vortigern — His first wife — Gods 
of the Saxons — The Irminsula — Discontent of the Britons — Excommunication 
and separation — Vortimer proclaimed King — Fury of Hengist — Rowena's arti- 
fices — She poisons Vortimer in a nosegay — Vortigern consults Merlin — His- 
tory of Ambrosius — The fortress in Snowdon — The massacre at Ambresbury — 
The Valley of Vortigern. 

The pressure of the Barbarians, those " many-nationed spoilers," had 
obliged the hitherto triumphant Romans to concentrate their attention 
and all their power in their own country, and, by degrees, they withdrew 
their forces from the remote provinces which owned their sway, until 
Britain was altogether abandoned by them, and left to the British princes, 
who were forced to carry on continual warfare with the savage Picts, and 
that people called the Scots of Ireland, settled on the west coast. The 
Saxons also came occasionally, to " fright the isle from its propriety," by 
their incursions ; and the endless quarrels of the chiefs for supremacy, 
plunged the whole land into such a state of anarchy, that Vortigern, who 
then filled the uneasy throne of South Britain, may be excused, in his 
despair of establishing order, for forming the resolution of seeking pro- 
tection and assistance from the powerful and restless German freebooters, 
whom he had hitherto looked upon as enemies. 

In an evil hour for the freedom of his country, Vortigern summoned 
to his aid the unscrupulous adventurers, Hengist and Horsa, and Britain 
became their prey. 

The loves of Vortigern and Rowena have become the property of the 
romancer, and some historians reject the traditions respecting them ; but 
yet the story is as often repeated as omitted by chroniclers, and is by 
some attested as worthy of credit. There is a probability about it, which, 
while it interests, enlists the reader in its favour. 

Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and their followers, tell the story of 
Rowena's fatal charms, and she is named in the Welsh Triads as Ronwen. 
She was the daughter of the Jutish captain, Hengist, who, after he had 
successfully assisted Vortigern against his foes, had established himself 
and his party in the country : rejoicing to find themselves powerful 
chiefs, who were lately banished adventurers, expelled from their own 
shores. 

(178) 



ROWEKA. 179 

When, at first, the Saxons stood before the King, says Roger of Wen- 
dover, he asked them respecting the faith and religion of their ancestors, 
on which HeDgist replied : " We worship the gods of our fathers, Saturn, 
Jupiter, and the other deities, who govern the world, and especially Mer- 
cury, whom, in our tongue, we call Woden, and to whom our fathers 
dedicated the fourth day of the week, which, to this day, is called 
Woden's Day. Next to him, we worship the most powerful goddess, 
Frea, to whom they dedicated the sixth day, which, after her, we call 
Friday." "I grieve much," said Vortigern, "for your belief, or rather, 
for your unbelief; but I am exceedingly rejoiced at your coming, which, 
whether brought about by God, or otherwise, is most opportune for my 
urgent necessities. For I am pressed by my enemies on every side ; and 
if ye will share with me the toil of fighting, ye shall remain in my king- 
dom, where ye shall be had in honour, and enriched with lands and pos- 
sessions." The Barbarians straightway assented, and having made league 
with him, remained at his court. 

Hengist had received as the reward of his helping arm, from the 
grateful Vortigern, a fertile and commanding tract of land, on the 
Thames, called by the Britons, Buoihin, and by the Saxons, Thanet. As 
soon as Hengist was fairly established, he sent for new allies to his native 
country, and his welcome summons was speedily answered by the arrival 
of a host of relations and friends, all greedy for gain. But the most 
attractive personage amongst these, and one on whose power the wily 
Jute most depended, was his beautiful daughter Bowena, celebrated, 
wherever she had been seen, for her surpassing loveliness and grace, " a 
prodigy of beauty, and the admiration of all men." 

There is a tradition generally repeated, that Hengist's modest demand, 
on being requested by Vortigern to name the price of his services, was 
merely as much land as he could cover with a hide ; this being of course 
granted, the cunning freebooter had it cut into thongs, and thus managed 
to procure a considerably larger share than was intended. However this 
may be, he became possessed of a great portion of the country, and built 
or appropriated numerous castles, which he fortified, and where his fol- 
lowers established themselves. 

It was at one of these, to which, it seems, he had given the name of 
Thong Castle, the situation of which is variously asserted (some chroni- 
clers insisting on its being at Doncaster, others, that it was in Kent), 
that Hengist entertained the somewhat weak and luxurious Vortigern, 
and there, at a grand banquet, he introduced his fascinating daughter 
Bowena to the Prince. 

In order to do the more honour to his guest, Hengist commanded the 
beautiful maiden to wait upon him during the repast, according to the 
fashion of the time, and Vortigern was not slow in taking the bajt held 
out. At the first glance his eye had been dazzled by Bowena's beauty, 
and the smiling grace with which she presented him with a golden gob- 
let, uttering, at the same time, in silver accents, the words of greeting — 
" Wses heal, hlaford Cynyng," "Health to thee, Lord King," entirely 
subdued him. From her lips he immediately learnt the customary 
answer, " Drinc heal," and Lis fate was sealed. 



180 ROWENA. 

Drayton, after detailing this scene, goes on to say that the enamoured 
monarch — 

" Kuste hire 1 and fitte hire adoune, and glad dronk hire heil, 
And that was tho in this land the verst was-hail. 
As in langage of Saxoyne that me might ever iwrite, 
And so wel he paith the hole about, that he is not yet voryrte." 

From that time " was-heil" and "drinc-heil" were the usual phrases 
of quaffing among the English, though Drayton thinks the custom had 
long before existed, both in Saxony and other nations. 

The dress of the Saxon ladies is thus described, and we may suppose 
Rowena appeared, on this memorable occasion, similarly attired : — 
" They wore linen, dyed of divers colours, under the gown, and to this 
part of the dress belonged those close sleeves seen under or within those 
of the upper garment. The gown frequently was embellished with bands 
of different colours, or embroidery about the knees and at the bottom. 
On their heads they wore a veil, coverchief, or hood, which, falling down 
upon the forehead, was carefully wrapped round the neck and shoulders ; 
sometimes they wore over their shoulders a cloak, with a hole cut in the 
middle, for the purpose of passing the head through. Their shoes, com- 
monly of black, were plain, and sometimes slit down the middle of the 
instep. The predominant colours for female dress were green, blue, and 
light red ; sometimes pink and violet, but rarely perfect white." 2 Purple 
was worn only by kings and queens. 

Hengist himself is represented as of " pleasing address, engaging and 
condescending behaviour, and of sound judgment." 3 

In "Smith and Meyrick's Costumes" he thus appears: "With a 
four-pointed helmet, like those worn in France in the ninth century, and 
a breast-plate precisely similar to those worn in that country in the reigns 
of Lothair and Charles the Bold; some say he wore ' scaly mail/ and 
surcoat of fur. The chieftain's spear was broad and heavy, his convex 
shield armed with a boss. His long red hair was worn flowing down ; 
he was stout in person, and freckled. When unarmed, his head was 
adorned with a wreath of amber beads, and round his neck was suspended 
a golden torque. His banner was red, and exhibited ' the picture of the 
white prancing steed/ at once the hieroglyphic of his name, and a symbol 
of the deity he worshipped." 

As Hengist is said to be only about thirty at the time he arrived in 
Britain, his daughter Rowena must have been extremely young. At first, 
on Vortigern's declaring his passion for her, the artful father pretended 
to think her too lowly for so great an alliance ; this assumed opposition, 
of course, increased the ardour of the royal lover, and his entreaties soon 
convinced both father and daughter that the objection was merely fanciful. 

The object of the Jute was attained, and almost immediately the mar- 
riage of Vortigern and Rowena took place. 

1 Winsemius, the historian of Friesland, relates with much gravity as a fact, 
that kissing was unknown in England till the fair Rowena, Hengist's daughter, in 
the character of cupbearer, pressed the beaker with her lipkens, and saluted Vor- 
tigern with a kus-en (a little kiss). — Sir R. Philips. 

a timith and Meyrick. 3 Rapin. 



EOWEXA. 



181 



Vortigern had united himself previously to his marriage with Rowena, 
to a British lady of royal birth, by whom he had three sous, Vortimer, 
Categrin, and Pascentius, and one daughter. 1 This lady had been divorced 
to make way for the new marriage, and here the history of the Saxon 
invasion strongly resembles that of the Roman, four hundred years earlier. 
The divorced Queen of Vortigern may be compared to Boadicea, who was 
repudiated to make way for her husband to marry another: in these 
instances, as in that of the Spanish Florinda, the ill-treatment of a woman 
introduced the enemies of her country. 

Vortigern' s first wife was much loved by the people, more particularly 
because she was a Christian, while Rowena, her rival in the King's affec- 
tions, was a lady of " uncowght beleue," 2 in other words, a Pagan ; more- 
over Vortigern had promised Rowena full liberty to exercise her own 
religion. 3 

As the rites of that religion are remarkable, a brief account of the 
idolatrous worship in which Rowena had been educated, may be excused. 

The Saxon temples, in which their idols were worshipped, 4 were sur- 
rounded with inclosures, and it was considered profanation to throw a 
lance within the assigned boundary. The chief of the deities were the 
Sun and Moon, from whom, the former a female, and the latter a male 
deity, were named the two first days of their week. Tuesco, or Tiw, gave 
a name to the third day, but of him nothing is known. Wednesday was 
named from Woden, or Odin, the God of War, and renowned ancestor of 
Rowena herself, who is computed to have lived in the third century. 
Thor was another deity, and Friga, the wife of Woden, was venerated on 
Friday, as was Seterne on Saturday. There was besides Friga, several 
female deities, as Rheda and Eostre, to whom they sacrificed in March 
and April, Eostre giving name to the festival of Easter ; and Herthus, or 
the Earth. There was a female power called an Elf, who appeared to 
have answered to Venus; Hera, the Goddess of Plenty, and Hilda, God- 
dess of War. 5 The offerings to these deities varied according to circum- 
stances and seasons, consisting of cakes, of cattle, and sometimes even of 
human beings. The most celebrated and singular idol of the Saxons yet 
remains to be described. It stood at Marsburg, and bore the name of 
Irminsula. The edifice in which it was placed was spacious, elaborate, 
and magnificent, but had no roof. The idol itself, the largest in all 
Saxony, was constructed, it is thought, of wood, and represented an armed 
warrior; "its right hand held a banner, in which a red rose was con- 
spicuous; its left presented a balance. The crest of its helmet was a 
cock ; on its breast was engraven a bear, and the shield depending from 
its shoulders, exhibited a lion in a field full of flowers." Such was the 
extraordinary figure which was the principal object of adoration in the 

i The author of " Britannia after the Romans" thinks that Rowena was the 
Christian wife of a monarch who leaned strongly towards Druidism, and a queen 
most anxious to reconcile the British and Saxon tribes to each other. — Miss Law- 
rence's History of Woman. 

a Fabian. 3 Robinson. * Turner, 

> Turner ; History of the Anglo-Saxons. 
16 



182 ROW EN A. 

temple. Pictures of the Irminsula were to be found in other Saxon 
temples, which proves the high veneration with which it was regarded. 

Both men and women served in the pagan temples of the Saxons ; the 
former sacrificed, the latter divined and told fortunes. The priests, in 
the hour of battle, took their favourite image from its column, and carried 
it to the field, and after the conflict was over, the captives were immolated 
to the idol. There were certain days, also, on which the soldiery, clothed 
in armour, and brandishing an iron cestus, would ride round about their 
idol, and afterwards dismounting, kneel before it, and offer up prayers for 
success in their warfare. 

The Irminsula was thrown down and broken, and the fame it had 
acquired destroyed by Charlemagne, in the year 772; its destruction 
occupied half the Gallic army three days, the rest being under arms; the 
vessels of the temple being appropriated, together with vast wealth, by 
the conquerors. The column on which the image had stood, being thrown 
into a wagon, was buried in the Weser, where it was found in the suc- 
ceeding reign ; and the Saxons attempting to rescue it, fought a battle on 
the spot called the Armensula. They were repulsed, and the image 
hastily thrown into the river; whence it was subsequently conveyed to 
the choir of a new church, built in the neighbourhood, at Hillesheim, 
and employed to hold lights at the festivals. After many ages of neglect, 
its rust and discoloration were removed by Meibomius and a canon of the 
church. 1 

Such were some of the extravagances of the Pagan idol-worship, which 
was introduced into Britain at the marriage of Rowena, and being pro- 
tected and patronised by Vortigern whose chief idol was Rowena herself, 
threatened to choke the scattered seeds of Christianity which had sprung 
up in different parts of the island. 

The first coming of Hengist had been, no doubt, welcomed by the 
helpless Britons as a deliverance from threatened bondage ; the increase 
of his possessions might not, perhaps, have awakened jealousy, had not 
the advancement of a foreigner and a pagan to the position of Queen- 
Consort, and the consequent divorce of their Christian country-woman 
alarmed them, and pointed out the necessity of expostulation. Whatever 
the British nobles might have felt at first, they dissembled their indigna- 
tion, and the earliest intimation of their feelings which Vortigern received 
was a visit from Wodine or Vodinus, Bishop of London, a man of singu- 
larly devout and exemplary character. That priest, having learnt that 
the Queen had been dismissed by her husband, went to him and remon- 
strated freely with him on the subject, telling him how great a crime he 
had committed in dismissing his lawful wife, who was a good and virtuous 
woman and excellent Christian ; he added, moreover, that he had deeply 
offended against the laws of God and man, by marrying a Saxon, who 
was an enemy to the Christian faith, and whose father was aiming at the 
crown of Britain, and resolved to subdue it to the thraldom of the Saxons. 
Vortigern, abashed by the Bishop's honest reproof, acknowledged his crime, 
prayed God might pardon him, and made a confession of his guilt to the 

' Turner. 



ROW EN A. 183 

holy man, full of penitence, auguring well for tbe future. Upon this 
Hengist, who in an adjoining chamber had listened to all that had passed, 
came in with fury, and upbraided Vortigern for being so dejected after 
his marriage. To completely emancipate his son-in-law from such an 
adviser, he slew the Bishop and several other religious men who resided 
with the King, and would have killed his son Vortimer also, had he not 
saved his life by a precipitate flight. 1 

Vortigern was next excommunicated by St. Germanus and tho wholo 
synod of bishops, on account of his marriage with the heathen Princess 
Rowena. 2 His crimes and follies had rendered him so much an object 
of detestation among the people, that in the year 464 a General Assem- 
bly of the British States was convened by the nobles of London. 3 On 
this occasion Vortigern was upbraided as the author of all the country's 
calamities, and the crown being taken from his head was placed on that 
of his son Vortimer. 4 The deposed King was then sent as a prisoner 
into "Wales, and Rowena, who had been also made captive, was confined 
in the Tower of London. The object of this severe treatment was to 
prevent any children of her's in future aspiring to the throne, to the ex- 
clusion of the issue of Vortigern's first wife ; for Rowena, at the time of 
her imprisonment, was expecting to become a mother, and shortly after 
gave birth to a son. 5 This was a cruel reverse of fortune, but Rowena 
does not appear to have possessed acute feelings ; beautiful as an angel 
as she is represented to have been, her character does not present us with 
any of the gentle virtues which adorn the sex, except, indeed, the per- 
sisting in a determination to adhere to the fortunes of her own family, 
which owed its aggrandisement to herself, may be considered as one of 
them. 

Hengist, after learning the imprisonment of his daughter and her 
husband, had to arm himself against the united forces of the Picts, Scots, 
and Britons, who, headed by Vortimer, fought four battles; in one of 
which Horsa, on the side of the Saxons, and Categrin, brother of Vorti- 
mer, were slain fighting hand to hand, — a proof of the animosity which 
fired the rival chiefs. 6 Hengist, during the interval, spared neither age 
nor sex, burnt public and private edifices, slew the priests at the foot of 
their altars, and even nobles and bishops were sacrificed to his indigna- 
tion. 7 In the end, however, fortune favoured Vortimer, and the Saxons, 
with Hengist, were forced to fly from the kingdom. During the six or 
seven years which followed, the British King employed himself in the 
restoration of Christianity, and rebuilt the churches which the Pagans 
had destroyed. 8 At the end of that time his life fell a sacrifice to the 
artifices of Rowena, who had bribed one of his attendants to poison him. 9 

Some of the best years of this dangerous beauty's life had been passed 

1 Weever, Scott. This scene is supposed to have taken place at Ambresbury 
in Wiltshire, and the great massacre of the Britons at Stonehenge, but antiqua- 
rians dispute on this point. 

2 Roger of Weudover. a Warrington, Scott. * Fordun 
* Roger of Wendover. 6 Speed. Hume. 

8 Howel. • Fordun, Brut. Tysilio, Howel. 



184 ROW EN A. 

in prison,' but it would seem that this confinement was not very rigorous, 
owing to the generosity of the disposition of her step-son. 

Rowena was anxious to recover her lost power, and reflecting what dis- 
asters Vortimer had caused the Saxons in England, — that she was herself 
a captive, her husband deposed and in prison, and her father a fugitive 
from his possessions, she determined to procure the death of the royal 
Vortimer. To this step she was led by her father's instigations, and, it 
is thought, with the connivance of her infatuated husband. 

Rowena employed as her agent on this occasion a young man, atten- 
dant on Vortigern, whom she engaged in her service by the promise of a 
great reward. The event is thus recorded : 2 — " Disguised as a gardener, 
the Queen's emissary appeared one morning before the King, when he 
was taking the air in his garden, and presented him with a nosegay of 
flowers sprinkled with poison." As soon as Vortimer was sensible of its 
effects, and perceived that his death was inevitable, he called the nobility 
into his presence, and exhorted them to a manly defence of their country. 
He made it his last request that they should erect his sepulchre on the 
seashore, on the spot where the Saxons were accustomed to land. Some 
say that his tomb was prepared during his lifetime, at the entrance into 
Thanet, the scene of their last fatal struggle, in which Vortimer was the 
conqueror ; and that the monument was called Lapis Titulo, in modern 
times "the Stoner." 3 However the King directed that his remains 
should be deposited therein, under the impression that the image and 
relies of a dead warrior would inspire the same terror he had infused 
when alive. For some reason not assigned, the Britons disregarded this 
request, and interred the heroic prince at Caer Ludd, or London. 4 

Perhaps some of the British nobles were prevented from complying 
with the last wishes of Vortimer, by the influence of Rowena, who no 
sooner found that her scheme had answered all her hopes, than she con- 
trived, by flattery, to persuade the nobility to re-establish her husband upon 
the throne. This step was decided upon in a general council of state ; and 
as soon as Vortigern was again made King, he sent into Germany, desiring 
Hengist to come over secretly, with a few attendants, lest if he came in any 
other manner, it might cause the Britons to rebel. — A. D. 461. The machi- 
nations of Rowena were thus far successful ; her husband had recovered his 
crown, she was again a Queen ; and her infant son, who had been born during 
her solitary sojourn in the Tower, was acknowledged the heir to the kingdom 
of Britain. 5 Under this promising aspect of affairs for the Saxons, Hen- 
gist was encouraged to set sail for Britain, with three thousand armed 
followers. 6 If the departure of her father had made Rowena " sad," as 
the historian informs us, 7 his return must have filled her heart with joy. 

1 Scott. 

2 Evans's Mirror of Past Ages, from an ancient MS. a Warrington. 

4 The following authors are unanimous in believing Vortimer to have been poi- 
soned: — Evans ("Mirror," p. 106); Verstegan, c. 5, p. 129; Fabian, p. 76; 
Matthew Westminster, p. 120. 

• Warrington. Langhorne says that no children were born to Vortigern by 
Rowena. 

« Fordun. ' Tanner. 



ROW EN A. 185 

Hengist now asserted his friendship for Yortigern, and his desire to sup- 
port the claims of his own grandchild, the son of Rowena, whom he feared 
might be slain by the Britons, and who, Yortigern being aged and infirm, 
and unlikely to have more heirs, had the onl}' claim to the throne. 

The weak and superstitious Yortigern is said to have consulted Merlin 
as to the fate of himself and his son by Rowena, and received for answer 
that they should be burnt to death by Uther and Ambrose. These 
princes had a prior claim to Vortigern on the British throne. Their 
brother Constans, who had entered a monastery when a child, was, by 
Vortigern's contrivance, brought thence, on the death of Constantine, his 
royal father, to assume the crown, — a. d. 448.' Yortigern had after- 
wards caused him to be murdered, and seized on the vacant throne, to 
the prejudice of the junior princes, Uther and Ambrose, who, it was sup- 
posed, fled for safety into Bretagne. 2 This, however, was not the case, 
for Ambrose was detained in Britain by his mother; and is known after- 
wards as " Emris Wledig," or " Emperor," the title borne by his illus- 
trious ancestor, Maximus : this was his Welsh title ; the Roman one was 
Ambrose Aurelian. 

After the departure of the Romans from Britain, many private Roman 
families had remained established here, forming a sort of clan of their 
own. The mother of Ambrose was one of these ; her birth was very 
noble, for her parents were said to have worn the imperial purple, 3 but 
the name of her father has been purposely suppressed, though he is 
called a Roman chieftain, and of consular dignity. She is accused of 
having violated her vows as a vestal virgin. 4 This, however, seems to have 
been a fiction, invented by the enemies of the mother of Ambrose. Both 
herself and children had been educated by Guiteline, Archbishop of Lon- 
don ; and Cirencester, the Roman city, is said to have been the scene of 
her espousals to their father Constantine. 

On the death of Constans, her eldest son, his widowed 5 Queen, dread- 
ing that the cruel Yortigern should aim at the destruction of her other 
children, had lived in a state of complete seclusion. The young Am- 
brose gave such extraordinary evidence of his mathematical powers, that, 
it was spread abroad as a rumour by the superstitious common people, 
that he was the offspring of a demon in human form, who had associated 
with his mother. The Queen desiring to conceal the rank of his father, 
favoured the conceit, and thus the youth early obtained the name of 
Merlin, "the Magician/' 6 

Vortigern had, by the advice of his nobles determined to build an im- 
pregnable fortress in Snowdon, and collected the necesary materials to 
accomplish his design. To his surprise, these all disappeared in one 

1 Constantine, son of Solomon, King of Armorica, was elected and crowned at 
Silcestre, a. d. 433. — Geoffrey of Monmouth, Holinshed. 

" Turner. 3 Bede. " Nennius. 

* The emissaries of Vortigern, entering the bedchamber of young Constans, cut 
off his head, and carried it bleeding to Vortigern, who, feigning the utmost hor- 
ror and astonishment, immediately ordered the deaths of the murderers ! His 
next act was to assume the regal power. — Warrington. 

6 Langhornii Chronicon. 

16* 



186 ROW EN A. 

night. On consulting with his wise men as to the cause, they told him 
the building would never stand unless it was sprinkled with the blood of 
a child who was born without a father. The country was searched far and 
wide, when a cluster of boys at play were overheard to charge one of 
their companions with being an " unbegotten knave." This child was 
the Merlin of whom we have been speaking, and who, with his mother, 
was instantly brought into the presence of the royal Vortigern, his great- 
est enemy. The Queen was forced to keep up her deceptive story, by 
owning the youth the offspring of the being of supernatural powers; and 
Merlin was sentenced to be sacrificed. In this cruel emergency, the wis- 
dom of the boy was the means of saving his life. He confounded all 
the wise men of Vortigern by his questions ; and having explained why 
Vortigern had failed in his erection of the castle, by founding it on a 
morass, had the good fortune to be set at liberty. Merlin obtained great 
reputation by the circumstance alluded to, and many prophecies were 
afterwards imputed to him, the repetition of which was forbidden, in 
after-days, by the Council of Trent. 1 

When Vortigern, desirous of learning his future destiny, and that of 
the son of Rowena, appealed to the royal prophet, he received the an- 
swer which sincerity alone could have dictated, — a quality for which 
Ambrose Aurelian was ever remarkable, and distinguished by it from his 
contemporary chieftains. 2 This excellent prince was afterwards leader 
of the Britons against the Saxons ; 3 his valour is said to have been equal 
to his modesty, and the latter was conspicuous in so learned a prince. It is 
particularly stated that he was skilled in mathematics and astronomy; 4 
and to him the town of Ambresbury, in Wiltshire, owed its origin. 

The British nobles had, on the arrival of so many armed warriors, 
under Hengist, felt very indignant, and prepared for war. Kowena in- 
formed her father, as usual, of what was to be expected ; who sent to 
Vortigern, offering to retain such only of his followers as the King 
pleased; but requested an interview on the subject. Thus, under the 
appearance of peace, he concealed the most artful scheme. 

Vortigern is said to have accepted an invitation from Hengist to a 
banquet at Ambresbury, with about three hundred of his nobles ; and on 
this occasion it was, that the whole of the followers of the British King 
were slain by the Saxons, and Vortigern himself detained a prisoner. 
Among those slain was Vodinus, who, at Vortimer's instigation, had 
formerly reproved Vortigern for divorcing his Queen and marrying 
Rowena. 5 The haughty and insolent King, who is truly described as 

Pennant (from Nennius). "There were two Myrddins, or Merlins; one the 
minister and archbishop of Ambrosius, who succeeded Vortigern, and built Stone- 
henge called Myrddin Ambrosius, and whose skill in bringing the stones from 
Ireland, obtained him the name of Enchanter; and the Myrddin, or Morvyn, a 
British poet and prophet, contemporary with Taliessin, who lived in the follow- 
ing century, and died in Bardsey." — Sir R. Phillips. 

2 Turner. 3 Hume. 

' Gibbon. * Langhornii Chronicon. 



ROW EN A. 187 

"neither wise in counsel, nor experienced in war," oppressed by the 
Si us, and pursued by Aurelius, who took up arms after the death 
of Vortimer, fled for refuge into Wales, to a castle among the mountains 
of Caernarvonshire. 

The valley of Vortigern (Nant y Gyrthyrn) is described as an im- 
mense hollow, to approach which says Pennant, " we ascend from Nefyn 
for a considerable way up the side of the high hill, and after a short ride 
on level ground, quit our horses. Fancy cannot frame a place more fit 
fur a retreat from the knowledge of mankind, or more apt to inspire one 
with full hopes of security from any pursuit* embosomed in a lofty 
mountain, on both sides bounded by stony steeps, on which no vegetables 
appear, but the blasted heath and stunted gorse ; the hind side exhibits 
a most tremendous front of black precipice, with the loftiest peak of the 
mountain Eist soaring above ; and the only opening to this secluded spot 
is towards the sea, a northern aspect, where that chilling wind exerts all 
its fury, and half freezes during winter, the few inhabitants." ' 

Nennius places the scene of Vortigern's retreat near the Teibi, in 
Cardiganshire; but (says Pennant) "I believe that the historian not 
only mistakes the spot, but even the manner of his death. His life had 
been profligate, the monks, therefore, were determined that he should not 
die the common death of all men, and accordingly made him perish with 
signal marks of the vengeance of Heaven." The guilty monarch was, it 
is said, destroyed in the castle wherein he had taken refuge, by lightning, 
together with the rest of the inmates; or else they were burnt to ashes, 
together with the structure itself, by the contrivance of the Britons. 2 
Pennant proceeds thus with his description of the spot: "Just above the 
sea is a high and verdant natural mount, but the top and sides worked 
by art. The first flatted, the sides marked with eight prominent ribs 
from top to bottom. On this might have been the residence of the un- 
fortunate Prince, of which time has destroyed every other vestige. Till 
the beginning of the last century, a tumulus, of stone within, and ex- 
ternally covered with turf, was to be seen here; it was known by the name 
of Bedd Gwrtheyrn. Tradition having regularly delivered down the 
report of this having been the place of Vortigern's interment, the in- 
habitants of the parish, perhaps instigated by their minister, Mr. Hugh 
Huberts, a person of curiosity, dug into the cairn, and found in it a stone 
coffin, containing the bones of a tall man. 3 This gives a degree of credi- 
bility to the tradition, especially as no other bones were found with it, — 
no other tumuli on the spot ; a proof, at least, of respect to the rank of 
the person, and that the place was deserted after the death of the royal 
fugitive about the year 465." 

Rowena's history is littled noticed after the seclusion of Vortigern. 

' The glen is tenanted by three families, -who raise oats, and keep a few cat- 
tle, sheep, and goats, but seem to have great difficulty in getting their little pro- 
duce to market. — Pennant. 

* Howel. a Kennett's Parochial Antiquities. 



188 KOWENA. 

That she survived her husband, and still persevered in her feeliDgs of 
resentment against the Britons, was believed, since she is accused of the 
death of Ambrose Aurelian, who is said to have been poisoned, in revenge 
for his share in her husband's death ; " for she was very skilful in the 
art of poisoning." ' Some writers, however, ascribe the deed to Pas- 
centius, brother of Vortimer, who would be his rival for the crown ; and 
a third account represents the philosopher King to have been slain in 
battle, fighting against his Saxon foes, and states that Stonehenge was 
erected over the spot where his remains were deposited, or else to com- 
memorate the slaughter of those noble Britons who were massacred by 
the Saxon Hengist. 2 

1 Oliver Matthew's Abbreviation of divers most true and ancient Britannic 
Chronicles, &c. 
3 Howel, Med. Hist. Ang. 



GUENEVER I. 

The beauty of the three Guenevers — Parentage of Arthur's first Queen — The 
Earl of Cornwall — Tintagel Castle described — Uther the Terrible, and his love 
for Igwerna — The Merlins — Gorolois and his wife — Uther marries the widow 
of Gorolois — Birth of Arthur — The Comet — Pendragon — Love of Arthur for 
his wife — She is carried off by the Duke of Somerset — Confined at Glastonbury 
— The Abbot obtains her release — She accompanies Arthur in an expedition 
against the Scots — First of the Twelve Battles — Guenever taken prisoner — 
She dies at Castle Dunbar — Tomb of Guenever and her maidens. 

The three Queens of Arthur the Great, the poetically- immortal adver- 
sary of the Saxons, were alike remarkable for their personal beauty, and 
for being honored with the name of Guenever, most probably in addition 
to some other appellative, and in reference to their pre-eminent loveliness. 
That they were, as some writers have imagined, but one individual, is 
clearly an error ; as not only does their history, on careful examination, 
connect itself with the three successive portions or epochs of the life of 
their warrior-lord, but their parentage was diiferent, and the place of their 
interment dissimilar. In giving them a place among the Queens of Eng- 
land, the opinion is followed of those authors who state that they were 
three separate princesses, bearing the name of Guenever, who, in turn, 
shared the regal honours as Queen-Consort. 1 

Every one of the many diiferent readings of the word Guenever 2 has 
reference to beauty: it expresses "white as silver." A dazzling white- 
ness of skin, produced by the humidity of the climate, is said to have 
been a striking characteristic of woman in Britain at all times. " With 
her complexion ruddy, eyes blue, her hair long, and of a yellow colour, 
suffered to flow carelessly over the shoulders." The sex is described as 
" tall in stature, stately and dignified in manners, and in personal strength 
and vigour of mind so nearly approached to that of man, that softer sen- 
timents often subsided, and made way for respect and awe." 

High birth was intimated by the addition of Gwen, Vren, or Bren, to 
the name of any person. Eight Scottish monarchs bore the denomination 
of Eugenius, or Huganus, — the Owen, or Oeneus, of the Welsh, Evenus, 
or Eueas. The woman's name which corresponds is Gwenus; 3 the same 
as Venus, the goddess-mother of that hero iEueas, from whom the 
British kings, as late as Henry VII., pretended to derive their descent. 
We are expressly told that Arthur's first wife was so remarkably beau- 

1 Langhornii Chron., Lewis's Hist, of Great Britain. 
a Camden. See Life of Gwenissa, p. 9?. a Ibid. 

(189) 



190 GUENEVER I. 

tiful as to excel all the other ladies of Britain ; on which account she was 
called Gwinne, "a word, in the Welsh tongue, signifying fair." 

This beautiful Queen of the Britons was daughter of Corytus, or 
Gwryd Gwent ; ' though some go further a-field, and say that her father 
was king of Biscay. 2 She was of Roman descent, and had been edu- 
cated, up to the time of her marriage, by Cador, Duke of Cornwall, who 
was her near relative. 3 Arthur, having established peace, married "a 
fayre ladye, and a gentel, that Cador, the Earl of Cornwall, had long 
since nourished in his chamber." We are not exactly told that Guen- 
ever was crowned, but that she was "made Queen;" therefore she no 
'doubt enjoyed the honours of being consort of Arthur. 

Guenever, it seems, was brought up from infancy by Cador, Duke of 
Cornwall, 4 called " her near relative." Cador was son of Gorolois, Duke 
or Earl of Cornwall, by Igwerna, the mother of King Arthur, and his 
" own chamber," or residence, was the famous Tintagel Castle, in 
Cornwall. 

This castle, celebrated in romantic annals as the birth-place of Arthur 
himself, thus appears to have been the abode of his Queen during child- 
hood. Carew describes the Castle of Tintagel thus : — " Half the build- 
ings were raised on the continent, and the other half on an island, con- 
tinued together, within man's remembrance, by a drawbridge, but now 
divorced, by the downefaln steepe cliffes on the farther side, which, 
though it shut out the sea from its wonted recourse, hath yet more 
strengthened the island ; for in passing thither, you must first descend 
with a dangerous declyning, and then make a worse ascent, by a path, 

1 Langhorne. 2 Stowe. 

3 Biog. Brit. Caxton says she was his own cousin, — a fact corroborated by 
Stowe. 

4 Before Athelstan's time, the Earls of Cornwall retained the titlo of Duke or 
King ; that monarch annexed it to his crown, but allowed the Duke or Earl the 
privilege of royal jurisdiction and crown right, the giving of liberty to send 
burgesses to Parliament, and appointing a sheriff, admiral, and other officers, 
which continued in the duchy till 1337, when the Parliament settled the duchy 
on the eldest son of the King of England, at the time when Edward the Black 
Prince was created Duke of Cornwall. 

The eldest son of the King of England is born Duke of Cornwall, in respect to 
which he is of age at the very day of his birth, so as to claim living and seizing 
of the said dukedom. This, however, was first settled on the King's eldest son 
by Edward III. ; and it is to be observed that it does not descend by virtue of 
that monarch's grant to the heir of the crown of England in general, but to the 
son, and him the first-begotten son of the King. So Richard de Bourdeaux, son 
of the Black Prince, who died without coming to the crown, was not Duke of 
Cornwall by birth, but was created so by charter; nor was Henry VIII. , after 
the death of his brother, Prince Arthur, Duke of Cornwall, because he was not 
the eldest-born son. Sir Walter Raleigh estimated the settled revenue of the 
Prince of Wales, arising from the mines in Cornwall, at £20,000 sterling. 

The Earls of Cornwall made Launceston Castle, Liskeard, Rostormel, and Mo- 
resk, at different times their place of abode ; but since Edward III.'s time, when 
Trematon came into their possession, these residences ceased to be made use of, 
and fell into decay and ruin. The ancient British dialect was spoken in Corn- 
wall till the time of Henry VIII., when the introduction of the English liturgy 
paved the way for its disuse. — Magna. Brit. 



GUENEVERI. 191 

through his stickleness occasioning, and through his steepness threaten- 
ing, the ruine of your life, with the falling of your foote. At the top, 
two or three terrifying steps give you entrance to the hill, which sup- 
plieth pasture for sheepe and couyes ; upon the same I saw a decayed 
chappell. Under the island runs a cave, thorow which you may row at 
full sea, but not without a kind of horrour at the uncouthnesse of the 
place." Norden more particularly describes the island as being " by a 
very narrow, rockye, and wyndinge waye up the steepe sea-clyffe, under 
which the sea-waves wallow, and so assayle the foundation of the ile, as 
may astonish an unstable brayne to consider the perill, for the least slippe 
of the foote sendes the whole body into the devouring sea; and the 
worste of all is highest of all, nere the gate of entrance into the hill, 
where the offensive stones so exposed hang over the head, as while a man 
respecteth his footinge, he indaungers his head, and looking to save the 
head, indaungers the footinge. According to the old proverbe, ' He must 
have eyes, that will scale Tintagel.' " ' 

Secluded and wild as was this spot, the rumour of the charms of the 
fair Igwerna, mistress of the castle, had spread far and wide, and had 
reached, among others, Uther Pen-Dragon, " the Terrible/' the reigning 
Prince descendant of Asclepiodatus, the famed Duke of Cornwall, who 
was contemporary with St. Helena. 

Uther, who had just become a widower, is said to have first beheld 
Igwerna, the greatest beauty of her time, at a banquet held in London. 
He sought, without success, to win her regard by every means his passion 
could suggest; but the lady fled from his importunities, and, with her 
husband, Gorolois, returned to Tintagel Castle, whither she was pursued 
by Uther in disguise. The magical skill of Merlin 2 was called to his 

1 Magna Brit. Norden says that most of the buildings were in ruins, but by 
the view annexed to this account, it appears that those on the mainland were 
standing in his time. Lelandsays: " Shepe now fede within the dungeon ; the 
residews of the buildings of the castle be sore wetherbeten and yn ruine, but it 
hath bene a large thing." 

2 The names of two Merlins are given in the Ancient Triad, in conjunction with 
that of Taliesin, as the three principal bards of the isle of Britain: — 

Merlin Ambrose. 

Merlin, the son of Morfyn (Merlin Silvester, or Caledonicus). 

And Taliessin, the chief of bards. [Taliesin, in the sixth century, wrote a 
poem on the Battle of the Trees, which is yet in existence ; and in which he 
likens the words in the Ogham, or secret letters of the Welsh, to twigs or 
branches of trees. Mr. Darces seems to think that this is an allusion to the ori- 
ginal system.] 

Merlin Ambrose, or the Magician, already mentioned in the Life of Rowena, 
was a Druid of British or Welsh birth. Merlin Silvestris, born in Caledonia, also 
a celebrated Druid, lived about a century later, about 570, and dwelt in the city 
of Alcluid. The fact that Magi, or Druids, dwelt at the court of Brudi, who was 
converted and baptised by St. Columba, in 536, proves that the Order had not, 
been so completely extirpated in Britain by the Romans as is generally supposed. 
[Toland's History of the Druids.] Rodarchus the Munificent, who reigned in 
Britain in the sixth century (a. d. 561), had two wives — one named Llangwrith, 
and the other Ganieda. Merlin the Prophet was brother of Ganieda: he had ac- 
companied Feredarus, General of the Venedati, when he made war on Guenolous, 
the King, and so also had Rodarchus, his brother-in-law, and is thus noticed iu 



192 GUENEVER I. 

aid, who pourtrayed to the lady, by means of a shadow which he raised 
on the wall, the form of one who was destined to be her future husband. 
Uther, at length, disguised as Gorolois, deceived the beautiful Igwerna, 1 
and it is said that Arthur was the offspring of this deceit. Some attribute 
the story to the policy of Gorolois himself, who desired to conceal his 
wife's frailty or misfortune; but the fact that Uther was compelled to the 
artifice of representing her husband, attests the truth and loyal integrity 
of the deluded fair one. 2 Not long after Gorolois fell by the hand of 
Uther, and that prince immediately married his widow. 3 

The birth of Arthur took place at Tintagel Castle, 4 a few hours only 
before the death of Gorolois, the event being attended by the appearance 
of a comet, which Uther beheld at Winchester, and which prodigy was 
explained by Merlin, whom the king had sent for, to denote the birth of 
a son, who should arrive at great power; and also of a daughter, whose 
sons and grandsons should successively enjoy the kingdom of Britain. 

At Tintagel Castle is yet shown the ball and the bed of King Arthur, 
his way to church, &c. ; and in the neighbourhood everything grand, un- 
common or inexplicable, is attributed to him. 5 The author of the Legend 
of King Arthur says : — 

" Of Brutus' blood, in Brittaine borne, 
King Arthur I am to name ; 
Through Christendome and Heathynesse, 
Well knowne is my worthy fame. 

"And in the Castle of Tintagill 
King Uther mee begate, 
Of Agyana 6 a beauteous ladye, 
And come of hie estate." 

Both Guenever and Arthur could lay claim to a Roman ancestry, in 
token of which Arthur bore the celebrated surname assumed first by his 
father Uther the Terrible — that of Pendragon, which, in the British 
tongue, signifies Dragon's Head. The princes to which this epithet was 
appropriated are spoken of by the poet as 

" Pendragon Kings of Uther's royal race ! " 

Geoffr y of Monmouth : — "Lo ! then comes another from the hall of Rodarchus, 
King of the Cambri, to meet the conqueror, who had married Ganieda, and was 
happy in a beautiful wife. She was the sister of Merlin. And Rodarchus orders 
garments, hawks, hounds, swift steeds, gold, shining gems, and goblets, which 
Guierlaudus had carved in the city Sigeni, to be brought, and presents and offers 
them one by one to the prophet." "We thus see," says Toland, translator of this 
passage, "that Merlin the Wild was no mean person. His sister Ganieda was 
nobly married, and he himself, for his vaticination, which was a prominent part 
of the Druidical office, received a present which might have suited an emperor." 

1 Thrale's Retrospections. The name of Igwerna, Arthur's mother, signifies 
an eel or serpent, and perhaps the famed banner of her husband had some allu- 
sion to the circumstance. 

1 Antiquities of Glastonbury ; Fabian. Buchanan likens the tale to that of 
jupiter and Alcmena. 

3 Biog. Brit. ; Merlin's Prophecies. 4 Geoff, of Monmouth. 

5 Borlase, Hearne. 6 Ibid. 



GUENEVER I. 193 

U ther's famous ensign was the picture of a dragon with a golden head. 
The dragon, being considered an emblem of destruction, was depicted on 
the Roman standards of that epoch, and Utber, desirous of attaching the 
remnant of the Romans in Britain to his interests, adopted the fierce 
ensign to signify his descent from their emperors. The dragon had been 
displayed on the banners of Rome in an exhibition given to the people 
by the Emperor Gallien, and at the time of Uther, similar shows or 
spectacles were common throughout the remotest provinces of the Roman 
Empire ; in Britain they were patronized by Uther, and afterwards by 
his son, King Arthur. 1 Cadwallader, their descendant, afterwards bore 
the red dragon on his banner, and Henry the Seventh, proud of his de- 
scent from the Roman line of princes, followed this example at the battle 
of Bosworth, 2 which brought in the line of Tudor, the ancestors of Queen 
Victoria. 

In spite of all this, the very existence of Arthur has been questioned, 
though the son of Henry the Seventh was named after him, and many 
ancient writers attest the truth of his history. At the time of Uther's 
death, 3 Arthur was only fifteen or eighteen years of age, and from that 
date, A. D. 516, he reigned for a period of twenty-six years; the people 
he ruled were the Silures, and he is termed King of Gwent, 4 then the 
British metropolis of the nation. 

Guenever the Fair had no children by Arthur, who, however, is said 
to have " loved her wonder well and dearly." 5 

' In the battle between Edmond Ironside and Canute, the Red Dragon of Wes- 
sex was unfurled. Henry III. placed it as his standard in Westminster Abbey, 
prior to his visit there, and had it carried before him at the battle of Lewes ; 
and Edward III. also exhibited it at the famous field of Cressy. — Willemonte's 
Regal Heraldry. 

2 This banner of Henry VII., which afterwards gave rise to the office of Rouge 
Dragon among the heralds, was of white and green silk, in imitation of the one 
Cadwallader had used in his wars, who had singularly enough believed that, at 
some future period, one of his posterity should wear the Euglish crown The 
dragon and the greyhound were the supports of the royal arms of Henry VII. and 
Henry VIII. : the former, as soon as he became king, having procured a true 
statement of his descent from Cadwallader. — Pennant. 

Juliana Berners says that Arthur bore "three dragons, and over that another 
shield with three crowns." 

Another national emblem, the leek, is said to have been first used at this epoch. 
In the days of King Arthur, St. David [uncle of Arthur — he was Archbishop of 
Menevia] won a great victory over the Saxons, having ordered every one of hig 
soldiers to place a leek in his cap, for the sake of distinction ; in memory where- 
of, the Welsh to this day wear a leek on the first of March." — Walpole. 

"I like the leeke above all hevbes and flowers; 
When first we wore the same, the field was ours. 
The leeke is white and greene, whereby is ment. 
That Brittaines are both stout and eminent. 
Next to the lion and the unicorn, 
The leeke the fairest embleym that is worne." 

Harleian MS., 1977 

3 Uther is said to have died from drinking the water of a poisoned well. 

4 Dr. Borhise, Ilowel, Kippis, Buchanan, Hearne. ' Caxton. 

17 N 



194 GUENEVER I. 

A strange event is on record as Laving called forth the affection and 
courage of Arthur in his wife's behalf. Melvasius, Duke of Somerset, 
had by stratagem succeeded in carrying off the Queen from her husband, 
and kept her confined during the space of a year, in a castle near Glas- 
tonbury. As soon as the brave and injured King discovered the place of 
Guenever's concealment, he hastily collected his friends in Cornwall and 
Devonshire, and besieged the disloyal prince. While, however, one party 
was assaulting the town, and the other defending it, the monks, headed 
by the Abbot of Glastonbury and Gildas Albanius, fearing the conse- 
quence of this intestine discord, entered into the midst of the contest, 
and persuaded Melvasius to restore Guenever to her husband. For their 
successful mediation on this occasion, the monks were rewarded by both 
parties with a gift of considerable territory. 1 

Guenever afterwards accompanied her husband in an expedition against 
the Scots. On this occasion Arthur fought the first of the twelve famous 
battles ascribed to him, which took place on the banks of the river Dug- 
las, in Lennox : 2 he four times encountered his foes in the same locality. 
In one of these fierce struggles " 20,000 Picts and Scots were slain on 
one side, and 30,000 Britons on the other; 3 so great was the slaughter, 
that the river was dyed with the blood of the slain, whose bodies were 
borne down its banks with the stream to the sea. Next day the British 
camp was rifled, and many rich spoils taken. Among the prisoners was 
Queen Guenever, wife of Arthur, with a great number of ladies, her 
attendants, and other gentlewomen. All the booty was divided by lot 
among the conquerors ; the captive queen and her maidens, with several 
noble prisoners, and much spoil, fell to the share of the Picts, by whom 
they were conveyed to Angus, and secured in the Castle of Dunbar, a 

1 Langhorne's Chron. ; Turner from Caradoc ap Llancarvon. a Stowe. 

3 Holinshed, by mistake, places this engagement in 542. He says it was fought 
on the banks of the Humber; and that in it both Arthur and Modred, his nephew, 
were killed. 

Aspatria is a long straggling village, standing on the ridge of a hill. In re- 
moving the earth of a barrow which stood on a rising ground, called Beacon Hill, 
about two hundred yards north of the village, in the year 1790, a human skeleton 
was found in a sort of rude chest, or kistvaen, formed by two large cobble-stones 
at each side and one at each end. The skeleton measured seven feet from the 
head to the ancle-bone ; the feet were decayed and rotted off, and the other bones 
soon mouldered on exposure to the air. On the left side, near the shoulder, was 
a broad sword, five feet in length, the guard of which was elegantly inlaid with 
flowers; on the right side lay a dirk, or dagger, one foot and a half in length; 
the handle appeared to have been studded with silver. Part of a gold fibula, or 
buckle; an ornament for the end of a belt, a piece of which adhered to it; a 
broken battle-axe ; a bit, shaped like a modern snaffle ; and part of a spur, were 
also discovered here. On the stones that enclosed the west side of the kistvaen, 
were various figures, rudely sculptured, but principally representing circles, hav- 
ing a cross within each relief. The learned antiquary, Hayman Rooke, Esq., 
from whose account these particulars are extracted, was induced to suppose, from 
the above emblematical delineations, that the person here deposited was interred 
soon after the dawning of Christianity ; and also to infer, from the rich ornaments 
contained in his sepulchre, that he was a chieftain of considerable rank. This 
has been sometimes considered the tomb of Arthur. — Brittoa and Brayley. 



GUENEVER I. 195 

place of great strength, where they remained in confinement the rest of 
their lives," ' The ill-fated Queen did not long survive this sad stroke 
of fortune ; she died at Castle Dunbar, and was buried in the fields of a 
town called Megle, in the county of Angus, 2 about ten miles from Dun- 
dee. 3 Arthur is said to have in person attended the funeral obsequies of 
Guenever, over whose remains a sumptuous tomb was afterwards erected. 4 
The ladies who had shared her captivity were, at their death, interred in 
tombs placed around that of their Queen and mistress. The tombs of 
Guenever and her maidens were yet pointed out in the days of Holinshed; 
as that historian relates, and from him we learn that a story was current 
even then respecting the sepulchre of the Queen, viz., that if any woman 
should chance to tread upon it, she would remain barren, as Guenever the 
Queen herself had been. "In consequence," says Langhorne, 5 "the 
women regard that monument of antiquity as a pestilent place, not even 
venturing so much as to look upon it, not only fearing the tradition for 
themselves, but teaching the same to their daughters, and bidding them 
also to beware of its influence." 6 

1 Scott. 3 Rapin. 3 Scott. « Ibid. 

6 Langhorne places the death of Guenever I. in 511 — the year in which iEscus, 
the Saxon King of Kent, died ; but Arthur did not become king till 516, accord- 
ing to general history. 

6 Langhorne, Hector Boetius, Holinshed. 



GUENEVEB II. 

- —Ar- 
thur's Chamber — ble — The K. _ — - — 

— - \ nedd 

— Cos sts — Etnttdeor ni Arthur — Arthv.: - —Arthur and 

:vnj — The F — 

geok— — Pu- 

bxk _ -- . .".'. — Arthur 

-.vex. 

;:' Arthur, who bore the 
same name as her form 

uaint and ( wb in 

modern times. I - 

. " .'. . - - 

.quest, an ancient building, sH 
. & of St. 
posed to have been part The 

following lines from the ballad - . - 

Guenev.: — 

- 
And seeuu 

:here irith hiui Que. 

1 lithe of blee. 

Y: - I : in "ever : 

And all his barons about him stoode, 
Tt were both stiff and stoure. 



: 
Wit* :.'.. -ad Table, 

The date of :'. -s of Arthur is _ 3 511 

of Bannesdown Hill, which . _ been 

E re.' A? this, Arthur 

agaiu:-: the £ - - _ . sbtma of eom- 

ineniorauEg the occasion, had established imoos order of knight- 

1 Langhome"s Chron. * Britton as .amberland. 

; 1 ;.;.;'- ;•.:.:. "."..-■ ;".. C.-.-'.cu. :?::--; 

::• 



GTJENEVER II. 197 

hood whose members were designated Knights of the Round Table. 
The motto assigned to the order was characteristic of an ancient Briton : 
" Spread be my board, round as the horizon, and ample as my heart, that 
there may be no first or last; for odious is distinction, where merit is 
equal." ' The number of these knights was limited to twenty-four, the 
King himself making the twenty-fifth. 2 Lothaire, husband of Queen 
Anna, Arthur's sister, was the first knight created by Arthur f a great com- 
pliment to his brother-in-law, who is described as " a worthy prince, hardy, 
bounteous, manly, and right chivalrous." The creation of similar orders, 
on occasions of public rejoicing, had been customary from the earliest 
periods of our history ; and several cities, among which may be men- 
tioned Windsor, have laid claim to being the scene of the earliest inves- 
titure of this order. At Winchester, which disputes the point with Wind- 
sor, there may yet, says Evans, be seen " King Arthur's Round Table," 4 
hanging in the great hall, where the Saxon kings were subsequently 
accustomed to hold their feasts ; this hall is supported by marble pillars, 
and is in the King's House, on the west side of the city of Winchester. 
The table, which bears the name of the monarch, is formed of one solid 
piece of wood, round which are cut several names in the Saxon charac- 
ters, though only one, that of Lancelot, is legible, — a knight who takes a 
prominent part in the history of Guenever, the third of Arthur's Queens. 
At Penrith a large circle may still be seen, which, after the lapse of 
centuries, retains the name of King Arthur's Round Table. It is sup- 
posed that this monarch introduced the fashion of round tables afterwards 
into Gaul, as they became very prevalent in that country, where every 
knight had at his back a squire with his armour in waiting. 5 This royal 
military order seems to have cultivated music; for a tune, called the 
"Prelude of the Salt," 6 was always played whenever the salt-cellar was 

1 Sir R. Phillips. a Leland, Pennant. 3 Harding. 

4 Evans's Notes to Old Ballads. When Edward the First conquered Wales, in 
1284, he held a Round Table, and celebrated his victories with dance and tour- 
nament. The concourse of English nobles on the occasion was prodigious, and 
numerous foreigners likewise graced the assembly with their presence. — Pennant. 

s Marie de France, an Anglo-Norman poetess of the thirteenth century, the 
contemporary of Henry the Third of England, whose famous " lays" are in the 
British Museum among the Harleian Collection, No. 978, has one, the fifth, 
called " The Lay of Lanval," a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, who, 
being falsely accused by the Queen of having insulted her beauty, is, by the or- 
ders of Arthur, tried for the offence at Cardiff, and delivered by a beneficent 
fairy, who conveys him to the isle of Avalon. There are in all 646 verses on the 
subject. M. le Grand has translated this lay into prose in his " Fabliaux." 
There is also an ancient English metrical version of it, by Thomas Chestre. — 
Hay's Biography. 

6 Salt was, from the earliest times, highly esteemed, and admitted into reli- 
gious ceremonies. As a mark of league and friendship, Jews, Greeks, and Ro- 
mans held it sacred. Formerly, on Ascension Day, the old inhabitants of Nant- 
wich piously sang a hymn of thanksgiving "for the blessing of the brine;" and 
Mr. Pennant, who thinks the custom of Saxon origin, says " that a very ancient 
pit there, called the ' Old Brine,' was also held in great veneration, and till within 
these few years, was annually, on that festival, bedecked with boughs, flowers, 
and garlands, and was encircled by a jovial band of young people, celebrating 
the day with song and dance." 

17* 



198 GUENEVER II. 

placed before King Arthur's Knights at his Round Table. The nuptials 
of Guenever II. were graced by many gaieties; not only were the 
knights of the Round Table established on the occasion, but not any of 
the ceremonies usually observed at the marriage of the ancient British 
princes were neglected. 

No public festivity, great feast, or wedding, was duly solemnized in 
"Wales, without the attendance of the bards and minstrels. There was 
one class of musicians, a member of which was especially appointed to 
attend on the nuptial festivity. This musician was required to be a ready 
waiter at table, and also an expert carver of every species of fowl. At 
the weddings of any of the royal family, his office was to wait on the 
bride. 

A picture in an ancient MS. of the British Museum, represents Arthur 
and his Queen at table in their royal robes, with their crowns, and sur- 
rounded by their attendants : in the front of the picture is a musician 
playing on what appears to be a violin, while a page on bended knees, 
offers a cup of refreshing beverage, as the reward of his minstrelsy. 

The court bard lodged with the governor of the palace : the Prince 
was accustomed to bestow on him an ivory chessboard ; the Princess, a 
golden ring. If the Princess called for a song after retiring from table 
to her own apartment, this bard had to sing to her highness in a low 
voice, lest he should disturb the performers in the hall. The subject 
was said to be on Death (not a very lively theme), but the word is pro- 
bably misinterpreted, unless it was intended, like the skeleton at Egyp- 
tian feasts, to remind the lady of her mortality. 

The marriage-fine of the bard's daughter was one hundred-and-twenty 
pence, her nuptial present thirty shillings, and her portion three pounds. 
The chief of the musicians was entitled to the marriage-fine for the 
daughters of all the inferior musicians or bards of the district, who paid 
twenty-four pence on their marriage; a proof of the antiquity and autho- 
rity of this office. 

The poets and minstrels contended for prizes of skill : at these Eistedd- 
fods, or British Olympics, judges were appointed to decide on their 
respective merits. "Although it is probable these assemblies of bards 
were subjected to certain restrictions, there is no instance of such being 
the case before the days of Cadwallader, who died at Rome, A. D. 688. 
" Cadwallader, it is said, being at one of these assemblies, with his 
nobles, a minstrel came thither, who played in a key so displeasing, that 
he and all his brethren were prohibited, under a severe penalty, from ever 
playing on it any more ; but were ordered to adopt that of Mwynen Grwy- 
nedd, or the sweet key of Gwynedd." ' 

There was another custom worth notice, which concerned the bards. 
The nuptial feast being concluded, a Pencerdd, or chief musician, was 
constituted Cyff Cler, and seated in a chair surrounded by the other 
bards standing, who made him the subject of their merry and ludicrous 
compositions, to raise mirth in the compauy. He was that day to make 
no reply, but on the next he was to divert the hall at the expense of the 

1 Pennant. 



GUENEVEB, II. 199 

inferior bards, and was also to compose a poena upon a subject given bim 
suitable to ins dignity. 1 

There were not many disbes used by tbe ancient Britons at tbeir feast, 
nor various kinds of cookery. " They served up fisb, tbe flesh of tame 
animals, wild-fowl and venison, either boiled, broiled or roasted. Tame 
fowl they never brought to table ; ducks, bens, and geese were indeed 
reared for amusement, but their feelings were spared tbe sacrifice of 
beholding tbe favourite bird of yesterday a victim on the board of to-day. 
In their kitchens they used spits and earthen pots ; platters formed of 
wood, earth and even pewter, covered their tables. The knives and forks 
of the inmates or guests bung at tbeir girdles, in tbe same case witb the 
dagger, called by the ancient Scotsman, Bidoc. Side tables were also 
provided, on wbich might be seen drinking-cups of wood, horn and earth, 
one of silver usually being tbere also, and sometimes of shell. Thero 
was a distinction in the mode of placing themselves at the feast. The 
superiors or chiefs of tbe party occupied a table in the centre of the great 
ball, wbile their retainers sat upon benches raised but a little from the 
grouud, and arranged in a circle around tbem ; they were attended on by 
youth of both sexes. After eating, the chieftain called for a cup of wine 
or ale, and drank to the person who sat on bis rigbt hand, and tbe same 
cup being afterwards filled to the brim, was passed round tbe circle to eacb 
person in succession. "Women not only bad a place at the festive board, 
but were treated witb much honour, and were accustomed to retire, as in 
more modern times, before the other sex indicated any symptoms of the 
effect of their potations." 2 

From many passages in Le Grand's Fabliaux, it appears that the cus- 
tom of reclining on beds or couches during meals still subsisted, and to 
eat on the same trencher or plate witb any one was considered a great 
mark of friendship. At great entertainments, the guests were placed 
two and two, and only one plate was allotted to each pair. In the romance 
of Perceforest, it is said, " there were eight hundred knights all seated 
at table, and yet there was not one who had not a dame or damsel at bis 
plate." In the romance of Lancelot du Lac, a lady whom her jealous 
husband bad compelled to dine in the kitchen, complains, " it is very long 
since any knight has eaten on the same plate with me." 3 

A peace of twelve years' duration followed the second nuptials of King 
Arthur. In this interval he acquired much renown by his splendour and 
magnificence, and foreign princes sought his friendship. 4 Norway and 
Denmark owned his supremacy, and Arthur sought to reduce Gaul, then 
a province of Rome. He laid siege to Paris, and reduced the city to 
such extremities that Flollo, the governor, offered to meet the King in 
single contest to decide tbe struggle, according to the chivalry of the day. 
In this encounter Flollo was slain, and Paris became the property of the 
British hero. Such is the account given by our ancient historians. Ar- 
thur, on this, established his court in France, and assumed for the royal 
coat of arms, quarterly, France and England. These arms, — afterwards 

1 Pennant's Wales. Q Macpherson. 

3 Notes to Le Grand's Fabliaux. * Kippis, Biog. Brit. 



200 GUENEVER II. 

to be seen in Glastonbury Abbey, on tbe head of which it was bestowed 
by the King, in divers panels of the wainscot of the abbot's apartment, 
and over the chimneys, — were " vert, a cross bottone, argent, in the first 
quarter our Blessed Lady, with our Saviour in her right arm, and a sceptre 
in her left, all or." 1 

That Arthur was a believer in the Christian faith, is evident from the 
fact of his making a cession of certain of his territories to the Saxon 
Prince Cerdic, on condition of his becoming a Christian. 2 Leland, who 
describes the seal of Arthur, which he had himself seen in the Church 
of Westminster, 3 declares that upon it the monarch appeared holding in 
his right hand a sceptre with a fleur-de-lis on the top, and in his left hand 
" orbem cruce insignitum," * plainly inferring, a sovereignty over both 
France and England. 

The successes of Arthur have been described as so wondrous as to 
belong rather to fiction than history, and it has been doubted whether 
Arthur ever held any dominions in Gaul. However this may be, tra- 
dition that he had such a sway still lingers in Brittany, as a modem 
writer tells us, in describing a visit she paid to Caerduel, situate in the 
parish of Pleumeur Bodorr, " the lovers of romance will hardly think 
that labour lost which places them on a spot so celebrated in the chroni- 
cles of the period as the favourite residence of King Arthur. Here 
places and names surround us, with which the Romances of the Round 
Table have made us familiar, but to which fancy has assigned a locality in 
fairy-land, rather than in any veritable portion of the earth's surface. 
Here the half-fictitious personages whose adventures have in so many 
forms amused us, and the mystic performers of those deeds which have 
bequeathed to Europe an heroical literature of her own, have c a local 
habitation and a name.' " 5 " Here it was," says M. de Fremenville, 
" that Arthur, surrounded by his noble peers, Lancelot, and Tristan, and 
Caradoc, and Yvain, and the rest, held a brilliant court, of which his 
wife, Guenarchan and the beautiful Brangwain were the ornament and 
pride." 

" It is certain, at least as certain, as anything can be relating to a 
period so remote, and at best but semi-historic, that Arthur possessed 
dominions in Brittany as well as in Wales, during the early part of the 
sixth century. In the romances which celebrate his adventures, we find 
him as often in one country as the other." 6 

The reminiscences attached to Caerduel, are not the only ones in this 
neighbourhood which relate to King Arthur, if the antiquaries of this 
country may be believed. "There is, at no great distance from this 
spot, and just off the coast, a little isle called Agalon, or Avalon, and 
here, as the Bretons most jealously maintain, and not at Glastonbury, 
according to the more generally received tradition, was the tomb of the 
monarch. The well known fable of his existence in fairy-land, and his 

1 Hearne's Antiquities of Glastonbury. 2 Dr. Borlase. 

3 Selden believed it a fact that Leland did see the seal here alluded to. 

• Selden's Titles of Honour. 

' Mrs. Trollope, in "A Summer in Brittany." 6 M. de Fremenville. 



GUENEVER II. 201 

return at some future period to rule again over his faithful Celts on either 
side the Channel, a tradition firmly believed by the peasants in some parts 
of Brittany to the present day, has been explained under the hypothesis 
of his having died in the Breton Avalon in this manner. The fairy 
Morgana, whose name ought to be written Morgwen, and means ' white- 
ness of the sea,' was a Druid priestess living in that island. It is known 
that these mysterious priestesses usually dwelt on the most wild and 
savage promontories of this rugged coast, or in the still more inaccessible 
islands which surround it. On that shore of the isle of Avalon which 
is opposite to the main land, there are extensive quicksands ; and the 
supporters of this explanation think, that Arthur's loss among these, 
upon some occasion when his love of the chase, or some other adventure, 
had taken him to this mysterious and sacred isle, was poetised into the 
story of the fairy Morgwen having detained him prisoner in her 
enchanted isle." ' 

Arthur had early distributed his possessions on the continent among 
his followers, and Normandy is said to have been allotted to Bedoer, his 
butler. During the nine years that France is said to have been the 
monarch's residence, he arranged everything for the preservation of tran- 
quillity in his territories there. At length he returned to Britain, and 
considering some solemn demonstration of power necessary after so long 
an absence, he resolved to be again crowned, with every possible grandeur 
which such a great occasion could demonstrate. The feast of Pentecost 
was approaching, when King Arthur called together an assembly of his 
British subjects at Caerleon, in Monmouthshire, for this august ceremony 
to be performed. 

The ancient city of Caerleon or Caergwent, is described by Criraldus 
Cambrensis, in his Itinerary through Wales in the year 1188, when he 
attended Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his journey there ; the 
object of the prelate not being, as is generally supposed, the conversion 
of the Welsh to Christianity, which had been early established in their 
country, but that of preaching a crusade for the recovery of the Holy 
Land, which, by the dissensions of the Christian princes, had lately been 
lost. There can be no doubt that the description of Giraldus affords an 
accurate representation of the state of that place in the twelfth century. 

" It is called Caerleon, the City of the Legions ; for ' Caer,' in the 
British language, signifies 'city,' or 'castle,' and because the Roman 
legions which were sent into this island, were accustomed to winter in 
this place, it acquired the name of Caerleon. This city is of great anti- 
quity and fame, and was strongly defended by the Romans with brick 
walls. Many remains of its ancient magnificence are still extant, such as 
splendid palaces, which once emulated, with their gilded roofs, the gran- 
deur of Rome; for it was originally built by the Emperors, and adorned 
with stately edifices, immense baths, temples, and a theatre, the walls of 

1 Mrs. Trollope. "From Kaerduel," continues the same author, " we walked 
to Penos Guirec, and there breakfasted, and then proceeded to Trecastel. It is 
a very remarkable line of coast, presenting:, without any of the grandeur and 
sublimity of high cliffs, a scene of savage wildness and rugged barrenness which 
I have rarely seen equalled." 



202 GUENEVER II. 

vrbich are still standing. Here we still see, both within and without the 
walls, subterraneous buildings, aqueducts, and vaulted caverns, and what 
appeared to rue most remarkable, stoves so excellently contrived as to 
diffuse their heat through secret and uuperceivable pores. The city is 
pleasantly situated on the banks of the navigable Usk, and surrounded 
with woods and pasture." 

Among the ruins of Caerleon, various antiquities have been from time 
to time discovered, of many of which a catalogue was preserved by 
Camden and his continuator. 

The views in the neighbourhood of Caergwent are extensive and fine, 
but the mighty Roman city has sunk down to a miserable village, the 
ruined walls of which, on the south and west side, alone remain to attest 
its former greatness. A modern traveller writes thus respecting this spot 
of ancient celebrity : " The Roman walls are still visible, but the facing 
stones have long since been removed for private uses. Near the centre 
of the field, adjoining to the west wall, is the theatre (or more properly 
the amphitheatre), mentioned by Giraldus. The form of it only remains, 
no traces of its walls being discoverable ; the diameter of the area is very 
large, and is bounded with a high circular entrenchment of earth. There 
is very little extant of the castle, which is of a later age ; and the keep 
is remarkably lofty. Modern Caerleon contrasts in a melancholy manner 
with the grandeur of its ancient state, for it contains scarcely a single 
decent house !" 

Not to modern Caerleon, but to that ancient Roman city which shone 
resplendent in art and grandeur, must the reader transport himself, to 
witness the second coronation of Arthur the Great, the supposed con- 
queror of Gaul, the hero of the ancient Britons, to whom nothing seemed 
impossible. The city was conveniently situated for the concourse whom 
the King had invited thither on this solemn occasion. Among the royal 
guests are named the Kings of Scotland, North and South Wales and 
of Cornwall, the Archbishops of London, York, and Caerleon, with 
many British princes, besides the Kings of Ireland, Iceland, Gothland, 
the Orkneys, and Norway. 

So great was the splendour of this solemn festival that all the fronts 
of the houses are said to have been laid over with gold in honour of the 
occasion, after the custom of the Romans of that time. The British 
historian, who has handed down to us the particulars of the eventful 
ceremony, remarks, moreover, that " there never were assembled at any 
festival so many men and women of rank ; so many steeds, hawks, and 
hounds ; nor was there such a display of precious stones, golden vessels, 
and dresses of purple and fine linen, as there ; for there was no one, even 
beyond Spain, desirous of distinction, who did not come to partake of the 
general satisfaction. There were also many who, uninvited, came to be 
spectators." ' Arthur and Queen Guenever were invested with their 
crowns in the following manner : — 

"When the company was assembled, the three Archbishops were 
called upon to robe the King, and place the crown upon his head ; and 

1 Holinshed, Geoffrey of Monmouth. 



GDENEVER II 



203 



Dubricius (Archbishop of Caerleon) was appointed to sing the sacred 
service. Arthur, when he entered the church, was arrayed in his royal 
robes, and supported by the other two Archbishops; and before him went 
four persons, bearing each a drawn sword, this being his privilege as 
general. The four persons were — Arawn ap Cynfarch, King of Albany ; 
Caswallon law hir, King of Gwynedd; Meyric, King of Dyfcd; and 
Cador, Earl of Cornwall. As he went on, the conventual train, on all 
sides, sang the best poetical compositions to the sound of musical instru- 
ments." ' 

"The Queen also, on her part, entered the church after him," though, 
according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's account, she went to the other 
church, which agrees better with what is said of the populace running 
from one church to the other. " This, and some other minute circum- 
stances, give to the author of this description the air of one who had 
been a spectator." 2 

"Whether the ceremony was performed in one church, or at the two 
different edifices, it is needful here to pursue the narrative of Tysilio. 
Guenever, according to his description, "entered the church after her 
husband, dressed in h'er royal robes, her crown on her head, attended by 
bishops and nuns, and the four wives of the four above-mentioned chiefs, 
each bearing a white pigeon in her hand. 3 When she had entered the 
church, the service began, which had been composed and set to music in 
the best manner ever known ; and the people ran from church to church 
to listen to the different services. 

" "When the service was over, the King and Queen returned to the 
palace, changed their dresses, and entered the great hall to the banquet ; 
Arthur and his attendants taking their places at one end of the hall, and 
at the other Gwenwhyfar, and the ladies in her train, as it was the custom 
for the Queen to do, when the King held a court, and had guests by 
invitation. 

" "When all the company were properly seated, Cei arose, and taking 
with him a thousand men, superintended the distribution and arrange- 
ment of the viands, as Bedwyr, comptroller of the cellar, with a thousand 
of his men, did those of the mead, which was served in vessels of gold 
and silver. All these had dresses of yellow ermine. Neither was the 
number or dress of those who waited on the Queen inferior to theirs who 
waited on Arthur. 

" Hence it was that no court in Christendom could vie with that of 
Britain in customs or regulations. For all the men who attended on 
Arthur were in uniform, as were also their wives ; and the ceremonial 
rules of behaviour were alike to all. And as no female, of any descrip- 
tion, would admit the addresses of a man undistinguished by military 
excellence, the men were the more valorous, and the women more chaste. 
" After the banquet, the company went out of the town to see a variety 
of games, and more especially the exercises with the lance ; and what- 

1 Chron. Tysilio. a Rev. J. P. Roberts. 

3 This seems either to have been a part of the ancient ceremonial, or to have 
been an allusion to the feast of Pentecost. 



204 GUENEVER II. 

ever were the game devised, the walls were crowded with female specta- 
tors, each of whom recommended her favourite to notice, which caused 
the men to exert their abilities to the utmost. Prizes for the victors 
were also given by the Sovereign, at his own expense. 1 

" Thus the festival continued for three whole days, and on the fourth, 
those who attended it were gratified by ample presents, — some by a 
grant of cities or castles, and others by vacant bishopricks. And on 
this occasion Dubricius, Archbishop of Caerleon, retiring to live as a 
hermit, surrendered his see ; for, considering how long a preparation had 
been made for a festival of three days only, and struck with the perish- 
able nature of worldly enjoyments, he resolved to prepare for the eternal 
joys of heaven." 2 

The translator of the foregoing Chronicle of Tysilio remarks, that this 
sentiment attributed to Dubricius, whatever he might think of the mode 
he pursued, is finely impressive ; for surely, if transient pleasures require 
so much preparation, those which are eternal demand one more serious. 

Although in the midst of coronation festivities, here must we break 
off the records concerning Guenever, the second of Arthur's Queens, of 
whom nothing more has been handed down, than an account of the exhu- 
mation of her remains, which, at her death, were interred at Glastonbury. 
This lady was so much beloved by Arthur, that at his own death he re- 
quested to be interred by her side, a desire fulfilled with fidelity by his 
British subjects. 

1 ' Some guests the while, as various likings sway, 
With tables* or with chess beguile the day.' 

The Knight and the Sword. — Breton Lays. 
2 Chronicle of Tysilio, translated by Rev. P. R. Roberts. 

* Tables was a game resembling trictrac or backgammon. Both chess and tables were men- 
tioned by Robert of Gloucester, in describing King Arthur's coronation — "Wyth pleyinge at tables, 
other atte chekere."— Warlon's History of English Poetry. 

Chess, a favourite Asiatic game, was either introduced into Europe by the Saracens of Spain, or 
learned from the Greeks or Turks by the pilgrims in the Crusades.— Notes to the Ihbliaux by M. le 
Grand. 



GUENEVER III. 

Guenever, daughter of Gogauranus — The sisters of Arthur — Curious story of 
Fedelmia and her friend — The children exchanged — The invasion — The 
"hag's" visit — Explanation and secresy — Change in the manners of Arthur 
and his Court owing to the Pictish Princess — The enchanted mantle — Queea 
Guenever's disgrace — Sir Cradocke's triumph — The Three Battle-Knights of 
Britain— The Three Gift-Horses— The three Chaste Women— The fatal horn- 
King Mark's Queeu — Tristan and Iseult — Queen Guenever and Lancelot — King 
Arthur's Castle at Camelot — His Courts — The King's nephews — Schools for 
British youth — Arthur quits his Court — Mordred's conduct — Battle of Camel- 
ford — Morgwenna and her maidens — Arthur's death— Constantine's cruelty — 
Guenever retires to Caerleon — Interred there — Discovery of Arthur's tomb. 

The third and last Queen of Arthur, like the two former, was known 
by the name of Guenever ; her father was a King of the Picts, of gigan- 
tic stature, called Gogauranus,' who had also two sons, Durstus and Gar- 
nardus, Kings of Pictland. 2 From this it would seem that the new bride 
of Arthur was daughter of the King to whom bis sister Ada bad been 
married. Anne 3 and Ada, both very beautiful princesses, the children 
of Uther Pendragon by Igwerna, were both married on the same day ; 
Anne, the eldest, 4 to Lotbaire, King of the Picts, and Ada, the youngest, 
to Gabranus, or Goranus, who ruled over the Scots. 5 This double nuptial 
ceremony was performed at London, 6 and the princesses were given away 
by their uncle Aurelius Ambrosius. Goranus had been previously mar- 
ried to a lady named Ingeanach, of whom the following curious story is 
recorded, and which, as it seems much more likely that she was mother 
of Guenever III., than the Princess Ada, wbo was Arthur's own sister, 
is here given. 

Eochaidh, or Eugenius, son of Eana Cinsalach, King of Leinster, bad 
been banished from Ireland, by Niell, the monarch, and, with his consort, 
Fedelmia, sought an asylum in Scotland, with her friend Ingeanach, wife 
of Goranus, son of Domangard. Poth ladies were on the point of becom- 
ing mothers, and being brought to bed on the same night, partly for con- 
venience, and partly from regard to eacb other, had been lodged in the 
same apartment, no other person being admitted to their chamber but 
the female attendant whose presence was necessary on the occasion. 
Fedelmia brought forth two sons ; Ingeanach only a daughter, and all 
ber children being girls, she had passionately desired a son. This having 

1 Langhorne. a Ibid. 

* Called by Langhorne, Arthur's "twin-sister," " gemella soror." 
4 Scott. ' Carew, Kippis, Rowlands. ' Holinshed. 

18 (205) 



206 GUENEVER III. 

also been the wish of her husband, whom she desired to please, Ingea- 
nach besought her friend to substitute one of her sons for the daughter 
to whom she had given birth. The exchange was readily made, and the 
infant prince received with embraces of affection by Ingeanach. As soon 
as the Queen's attendants were admitted, and learnt that a prince had 
just been born, they carried the happy tidings to Goranus, who, unsuspi- 
cious of any fraud, received the infant with the greatest endearments, 
named it Eugenius in honour of his friend, and treated it as his own. 

On the death of Niell, Eugenius or Eochaidh, returned into Ireland, 
and took possession of Leinster, his own patrimony, over which he ruled 
for many years. His wife and son, whom he sent for from Scotland, joined 
him there : the latter, who succeeded him on the throne, had received the 
name of Brandubh. 

Meanwhile, Goranus had settled the succession upon his supposed son. 
At his death, Eugenius was, therefore, crowned King of the Scots, with- 
out opposition. No sooner had he settled his affairs than he prepared for 
an invasion of Ireland, grounding his pretensions to that kingdom on his 
royal descent. He landed with his forces in Leinster, and commenced 
plundering the inhabitants. Brandubh, then king, perceiving how incom- 
petent his forces were to contend with those of his enemy, gave himself 
up as lost; and his despair was augmented by the Scottish King's sending 
to demand of him a heavy tribute, under the penalty of spreading fire 
and sword through his dominions. At this critical juncture, his mother, 
Queen Fedelmia, who lived with him, volunteered to go in person to 
Eugenius, having a scheme of her own, by which she hoped to persuade 
him to retire out of the province. On her arrival at the Scottish camp, 
the Queen demanded an audience of the royal leader. So extraordinary 
a request led the King to imagine that the lady was distracted ; but he 
nevertheless acceded to her petition. She then boldly expostulated with 
him upon the subject of his invasion, represented the cruel havoc he was 
making in Leinster, and bravely inquired what had provoked him to so bar- 
barous and unwarrantable an undertaking. Eugenius, indignant at being 
thus called to account, replied roughly, that " it was not necessary for him 
to answer every old hag who should ask him questions;" and then ordered 
her to quit the camp. Whereupon Fedelmia told him "that his own 
mother was as much a hag as herself, as she would soon convince him, if 
he would grant her a private audience, for she had a secret to disclose 
that was of the utmost importance to his interest." The King, who was 
all curiosity to hear what she had to say, having granted her request, 
Fedelmia thus addressed him : " Sir, I told you that your own mother 
was such a hag as myself, which is literally true ; for I am your mother, 
and Brandubh, the King of Leinster, whom you seem resolved to drive 
out of Leinster, is your own brother; and to evince my honour and 
veracity upon this occasion, I beseech you to send instantly to your sup- 
posed mother, the Queen Dowager of Scotland, who, I am confident, will 
assert the truth, and confess that you are my son; only let me entreat 
you to cease hostilities and outrages upon the province until the messenger 
returns." The astonishment of the King was great at what had been 
revealed by Fedelmia, and so important did he consider the relation she 



GUE NEVER III. 207 

had given him, that he instantly dispatched a messenger into Scotland to 
his mother, desiring she would come to him into Ireland with all possible 
haste, as her presence was absolutely necessary relative to the most tender 
circumstance which had occurred to him during his whole life. Queen 
Ingeanach complied with the request of her son, and on her landing in 
Ireland was conducted to the camp. The King of Scotland then acquainted 
her with the occasion of his message, and the surprising account he had 
heard from the Queen of Leinster, and desired she would satisfy him as 
to the truth of the discovery, and declare on her honour whether he was 
her son or not. The lady openly confessed the whole intrigue between 
herself and the Queen of Leinster, and convinced the King as to the 
fact of his birth, who desired that they would keep the matter secret, lest 
his right to the crown should be disputed, and an attempt be made to 
prevent the succession of his family to the throne of Scotland; for if the 
tribe of the Dalriada were informed he was not the son of the deceased 
monarch, they would dispute his title, and disturb his government. The 
ladies bound themselves to secrecy; a peace was immediately made, and 
a strict friendship established with Brandubh, the King of Leinster; and 
Eugenius, withdrawing his forces from the island, returned into Scotland. 
Very unlike was this Queen to her predecessors in character — for we 
read of Guenever II., that no court in Christendom was more remarkable 
for female purity than hers, where the men were brave, and the women 
free from reproach — and no sooner had Arthur become allied to this 
Pictish princess, than a change took place in the manners of the court; 
nor does the fame of Guenever III. herself escape. Not only was Guen- 
ever unfaithful to her royal lord, but the brave Arthur, the hero of his 
times, who had been so tenderly attached to his two former Queens, 
followed the bad example of his present wife. 

A story is related of an enchanted mantle, the property of which was, 
that none but a modest and pure woman could wear it. It was justly 
reckoned one of the greatest curiosities of Britain, and as such is fre- 
quently alluded to by the old Welsh bards.' 

This extraordinary garment was brought to Carlisle, where the court 
was then staying : it was the third morning of May. " God speed thee, 
King Arthur," said the dwarf who exhibited this robe, the pattern and 
nature of which were rare to behold; "and God be with thy fair Queen 
Guenever. I have brought a curious article of female costume, well- 
shaped, and fair to look on, which I wish her majesty to try on; but it 
has one small fault, — it will neither keep shape nor colour a moment on 
any lady that hath done amiss." On this, all the knights in the court 
began to be in fear for their ladies ; but not so Queen Guenever, who 
forthwith advancing, boldly seized the mantle, and threw it at once over 
her person, to make the first trial, when, lo ! says the ballad — 
" From top to toe it shiver'd down, 

As though with sheers bestradde. 
" One while it was too long, 

Another while too short, 
And wrinkled on her shoulders 

In most unseemly sort. 

1 Sir Henry Ellis. 



208 GUENEVER III. 

" Now green, now red, it seemed, 
Then all of sable hue ; 
'Beshrew me,' quoth King Arthur, 
' I think thou be'st not true ! ' " 

On which remark, the Queen indignantly casts down the mantle, with 
severe reproaches to her lord, saying, as she departs to her chamber — 

" ' I had rather live in desarts, 
Beneath the greenwood tree, 
Than here, base king, among thy groomes, 
The sport of them and thee !' " 

Sir Kaye next called on his lady to essay the wonderful garment: 
" Here, put on this mantle, if thou art innocent; but if thou art guilty, 
bide where thou art, come not near it." How did the knights laugh, and 
the ladies titter with mirth, when they beheld the mantle shrivel and 
shrink together ! the lady cast it from her, and followed Guenever to her 
chamber. Another trial was made; but at the first touch, this sensitive 
garment shrunk up "to a tassel and a thread." At last, Sir Cradocke's 
lady made the attempt, and with complete success; for the magic robe 
fell into as elegant and decorous folds as any matron could desire. Queen 
Guenever, who, from her chamber beheld this, burst forth into passionate 
exclamations of envy, and, coming down into the company, declared the 
mantle had been falsely won; she was thereupon reproved by the owner, 
who told the King freely, that she stood in need of chastisement, for her 
bold speech and too free carriage. 

Warton was of opinion, that the ballad of " The Boy and the Mantle" 
was taken from an old French piece, entitled, " Le Court Mantel," quoted 
by M. de St. Palaye, in his " Memoires sur l'ancienne Chevalerie :" the 
tale also resembles that r of Ariosto's Enchanted Cup. The old stories 
possessed by other countries of King Arthur, were imported originally 
from Britain, according to Sir Henry Ellis. The currency of the story 
is a proof, at least, that there was no want of satire at Arthur's court, 
and probably no lack of matter for its exercise. 

While the owner of the mantle was reproving Guenever, a wild boar 
ran by, which he seized, and having killed, laid the head down before the 
court, saying, " No man, whose wife has done him wrong, can carve that !" 
Several hid their knives, unwilling to risk the attempt; some others 
affected they had none ; but all who did try failed, Sir Cradocke alone 
excepted. A golden horn was then produced by this ill-omened stranger, 
who filled it with wine. " Let any knight, whose wife hath erred, try to 
drink out of that." " It was spilt on the shoulder of one, on the knee 
of another, and in the eyes of a third ; nor could any drink a drop but 
Sir Cradocke, who won the horn and boar's head, while his dame carried 
off the magical garment, accompanied by the envy and acclamations of 
the whole court. 

Cradocke, or Caradoc, was surnamed strong-armed. His warlike 
achievements obtained for him the dignities of a Knight of the Round 
Table, and he was made lord of the "dolorous tower," destined for the 
confinement of state-prisoners. The Triads style him one of the three 
battle-knights of Britain ; and Arthur himself called him the Pillar of 



GUENEVER III. 209 

Wales. His praises were celebrated by Aneurin Gwawdrydd, " the Mon- 
arch of the Bards," who flourished about 570, in his poem entitled, 
Gododin : and the Triads style his fleet war-horse Lluagor, " one of the 
three gift-horses of Britain." Caradoc, however, possessed a still greater 
treasure, as we have seen, in his wife, a princess whom the triads notice 
as " one of the three chaste women of Britain ;" who possessed three 
rarities, of which herself only was reputed worthy — her mantle, her golden 
goblet and her knife." ' 

A horn, adorned with gold, is mentioned in the poem called " La Mort 
d' Arthur," possessing such virtue, that no lady untrue to her husband 
could drink out of it without spilling the wine : this enchanted horn had 
been sent to acquaint Arthur with Guenever's frailty, but was intercepted 
by King Mark, whose queen, with one hundred of her ladies, tried to 
drink out of it, and " only four could drink without spilling !" There is 
another characteristic story told of the Queen of Mark : these popular 
tales are almost all we have to guide us as to the habits of the day, and 
have therefore their value. 

Many, indeed, is the fiction interwoven with the history of Arthur's 
time ; and difficult is it to separate the true from the false. Caradoc and 
Tristram, and indeed, most of the knights whose achievements have been 
handed down in ballads to posterity, have left their names attached to 
numerous spots of legendary interest. 

The famous legend of the Queen of Mark runs as follows : — 

Morrough, one of Arthur's newly created knights, brother of the Queen 
of Leinster, was sent by Anguish or Angus, King of Ireland, into Corn- 
wall, to demand of Mark, its king, a tribute won from him in single com- 
bat. Payment was refused, but Mark offered to meet the ambassador in 
single combat, to decide their strength of arms. Sir Tristram, or Tristan 
in the French romances, undertook the share of Mark in the engagement, 
in which he dealt so fierce a blow on his opponent's skull that, returning 
to Ireland, he died of the wound. Tristram himself was wounded by a 
spear, which had been poisoned, and he departed also for Ireland, to seek 
a cure in the country where the poison had been prepared. While at 
court there, his skilful performance on the harp made a great impression 
on all the household of King Anguish, and won for him the heart of the 
beautiful Isod, or Isolde, the monarch's daughter. Her love was returned ; 
but as true love always finds a cross, the Queen, by private intelligence 
and other means, learnt that Sir Tristram was the person to whom her 
brother owed bis death-wound; upon which discovery he was banished, 
not only from the court, but also from the kingdom. On his return, 
Mark was so interested by the recital of the charms of the Irish princess, 
that he despatched Sir Tristram to Ireland again, as his own ambassador, 
to seek the hand of Isolde for himself. " La Belle Iseult," as French 
romances call her, returned with her former lover to Cornwall, where her 
marriage with Mark was celebrated with much joy and solemnity. But 
the renewed acquaintance of the lovers bad revived the flame which 
should now have been extinguished. Again Sir Tristram sought to en- 

1 Le Grand's Fabliaux, notts. 
18* o 



210 GUENEVER III. 

tertain his fair mistress with the sweet strains of his harp ; and on one 
of these occasions he became a victim to the aroused jealousy of Mark, 
by whose hand he was slain ; so that the historian remarks " his love, 
which began with the harp, ended with the harp." ' The father of Isod, 
who doated on her, had built for her, before she left Ireland, a castle 
upon the walls of Dublin, called Isod's or Isolde's Tower. It stood near 
" a void room called Preston's Inns, which, in those times, served as a 
place of recreation for the monarchs of the country; 2 and, not far from 
Dublin and from Isod's Tower, is a chapel with a village, named Chapel 
Isoud, which was afterwards built by King Anguish, ' in remembrance 
of his child, and for the good of her soul.' " 3 

The chronicles of the times abound with instances of Guenever' s 
gaieties; and in the merry court of Arthur, filled with knights and chiv- 
alry, many strove to obtain the notice of the fair Pictish Queen, who pre- 
sided over their assemblies. In the curious metrical romance, entitled 
"La Mort d' Arthur," the greatest part of the poem consists of the ex- 
ploits of Sir Launcelot du Lake, King of Benwike, his amours with 
Guenever, and his refusal, for her sake, of the beautiful daughter of the 
Earl of Ascalot. At the conclusion of the tale, both Launcelot and 
Guenever assume the religious habit, in token of their repentance. 4 

It was usual for knights to wear the sleeve of their lady love or mis- 
tress upon their arms. Elayne, the fayre maiden of Aslotot, gave Sir 
Launcelot "a reed sleeve of scarlet, wel embroudred with grete perlys." 5 
This love-token the gallant knight of the Round Table ventured to dis- 
play at a tournay, which circumstance very seriously displeased his royal 
mistress, Queen Guenever, who, like other enamoured dames, could brook 
no rival. Nevertheless, Sir Launeelot's fidelity to the Queen, though 
often tried in that fickle court, was so firm that legends tell of his having 
been visited by a fair love-sick damsel, who assuring him the Queen could 
not possibly be informed of his trespass, he chivalrously answered, 
" Though she should never know it, my heart, which is constantly near 
her, could not be ignorant." One of the four knaves or varlets of the 
French playing-cards bears the name of Lancelot, in memory of that 
valiant hero. 

The circle which surrounded the King and Queen of this chivalrous 
time appears to have been more merry than moral, and extremely 
splendid. 

"King Arthur at Camelot kept his court royall, 
With his fayre quene, Dame Guenever the gay ; 
And many bold barons sitting in hall, 
With ladies attired in purple and pall." 

" Cadbury Castle, called by ancient topographers Camalet, was situ- 
ated on the eastern side of the parochial church of Cadbury," at the 
northern extremity of a ridge of high hills, commanding an extensive 
prospect over Meadess and the Blackdown summits in Devonshire. " Its 

1 Dr. Hanmer, Caxton, Book of Houth. 2 Holinshed. 

3 Dr. Hanmer. * Wharton's History of English Poetry. 

" Art of Needlework. 



GUENEVER III. . 211 

form," says Mr. Collinson, 1 "is neither entirely circular nor square, but 
somewhat between both, conforming to the shape of the hill. Part of 
it seems to have been hewn out of the solid rock, and is defended by four 
ditches, and within is a still higher entrenchment of a circular form, 
which was the citadel or Prsetorium, but vulgarly called King Arthur's 
palace/' 

The rampart is composed of stones, now overspread with earth, and 
has only one entrance from the east, which is guarded by six or seven 
ditches. The area contains upwards of thirty acres. Within it and in 
the ditches, have been found at different periods, many noble relics of 
the Roman Empire. 2 

This ancient fortification, which, by its name, signified " Tower of 
War," is called by Drayton, "King Arthur's Ancient Seat;" and many 
places there and in the neighbourhood bear the name of that British King. 
His Kound Table, his Kitchen, his Well, have been transmitted to 
our times, and even a road across the fields, under the Castle, is known 
as King Arthur's Hunting Causeway. 

The following lines of Drayton commemorate this ancient British 
seat: 

"Like Camelot what place was ever yet renowned? 
Where, as at Caerleon, oft he kept the Table Round ; 
Most famous for the sports at Pentecost so long, 
From whence all knightly deeds and brave achievements sprung." 

According to the British Triads, the principal courts or palaces of 
Arthur were the following : — Caerleon, on the river Usk, in Wales; 
Celliwig, in Devon or Cornwall ; and Penrhyn Rhionedd, in the north. 

The feast which Arthur held at his coronation at the first of these 
places, is there also spoken of as one of " The three honourable feasts 
of the Isle of Britain." 

Among the many distinguished characters who graced the court of the 
chivalrous Arthur, were Mordred and G-awainus, two of the King's 
nephews, the sons of Lothaire, by Anna, daughter of King Uther, " the 
Terrible." For the eldest of these princes the Queen is said to have 
entertained a very strong attachment. Both of them were natives of 
her own country, the laud of the Picts; and though the admirers of 
Arthur have loaded the memory of Mordred, his destroyer, with every 
opprobrious reproach, the British Triads state that he was remarkable 
for his " gentleness, good nature, and agreeable conversation," and thar. 
it was " difficult to deny him any request." 

The manner in which these princes became associated with Arthur's 
nobles, was thus : — Their father, Lothaire, on the death of Uther, laid 
claim to the British crown on the score of Arthur's illegitimacy, he having 
married Anna, daughter of the deceased King, — a proof she was not 
Arthur's twin-sister, as Langhorne has asserted, but born after Igwerna's 
marriage. Finding this argument ineffectual, Lothaire united with the 
Saxons and Colgrim, who ruled in Northumberland, against Arthur. 

1 History of Somerset. 2 Leland, Camden, Stowe, Selden. 

3 Turner's Anglo-Saxons. 



212 GUENEVER III. 

He was defeated, and afterwards entered into an alliance, by which it 
was stipulated that Lothaire should preserve peace with the Scots, and 
aid Arthur against his Saxon foes; the condition being that Arthur 
should enjoy the crown during his own life, but that when he died, it 
should descend to Mordred or his sons, if he had any. 1 This treaty had 
answered very well for Arthur at the time when it was made, after the 
death of his first Queen, who was childless, and when he had himself no 
prospect of issue. Nor had he any children by Guenever the Second, as 
far as history records ; yet the third Guenever, the faulty Queen, 
became the mother of several. There were two sons, called Noe and 
Llechan. 

According to the agreement of Arthur and Lothaire, Mordred, the 
eldest son of the latter, took up his abode at the court of Arthur, as his 
destined successor ; and his brother, the young Gawaine, also accompa- 
nied him into Britain for the purposes of education : the name of Sir 
Gawaine figures prominently in many of the romances of this epoch. 

In Arthur's time, there were many schools in England for the educa- 
tion of youth ; every monastery, indeed, receiving pupils. Paulinus, the 
disciple of Germanus, resided in the Isle of "Wight, where he received 
pupils for education ; and Dubricius, the Archbishop of Caerleon, had a 
school "in a place abounding with woods:" 2 to this last, perhaps, the 
young Pict was transferred. St. David, his great uncle, paid a visit to 
the establishment of Paulinus, who, we are told, used "to sup in the 
refectory, but had a scriptorium, or study, in his cell, being a famous 
scribe." 

Lothaire, who had been the first-created knight of Arthur's Round 
Table, was afterwards appointed to rule over Norway and Denmark ; and 
Gawaine became ruler of Lothian, in Scotland, the patrimonial estate or 
inheritance, but tributary to his uncle, the King of the Britons; 3 while 
Thametes, his royal sister, becoming the mistress of Eugenius, King of 
Scots, had by him a son, St. Kentigern, afterwards Bishop of Glasgow, 
a prelate of royal blood, who became a great favourite of Brudeus, King 
of the Picts. 

Morgwenna, or Anna, 4 sister of Arthur, after her hushand's death, 
entered on the Druidical office of priestess, in one of the islands anciently 
so celebrated for those rites, upon the coast of France ; later still, we 

1 Holinshed. a Fosbrooke's British Monachism. 

3 Lothaire's dominions included all the lands about Pentland to the Forth, 
which were from him called Lothian. He was also rightful heir to the throne of 
Norway, being of the lineage of King Sichelm. The Norwegians had elected 
Riculf for their king ; but Arthur, who had invaded Norway and Denmark, killed 
the usurper, and placed his brother-in-law upon the throne, who immediately re- 
signed Lothian, in Scotland, to his son. — Harding, Brit. Bray. 

Langhorne calls Lothus the ruler of Laudonia, and brother of Augusellus and 
Urianus. [Turner also says Lot was brother of Urien, and son of Cynfarch, and 
that Anna's marriage with him united the Kings of the Northern Britons in con- 
sanguinity with Arthur.] It was Augusellus bore the sword at Arthur's corona- 
tion: we do not hear that Lothus was present on that occasion. 

4 Whether Morgwenna and Anna are the same admits of a doubt. 



GUENEVER III. 213 

trace her to Avalon, and find her attendant on the bed of her dying bro- 
ther, King Arthur. 

Arthur, finding it necessary to take up arms against the Romans, and 
to quit the country for that expedition, made the necessary arrangements 
for government during his absence. He accordingly declared publicly, that 
should anything happen to himself, Constantine, the son of Cador, Earl of 
Cornwall, a nobleman much loved by the people, was the person he desired 
to succeed to his crown : by which it would seem that he did not consider 
Guenever's sons his heirs. During his temporary absence, Mordred was 
placed at the head of the government, as regent, and Arthur commended 
the Queen, his wife, to his protection. 1 This done, the King departed to 
battle with his enemies, little expecting what would transpire in his 
absence. 

Mordred, who had always expected to succeed to Arthur's crown in 
the event of his death, was so much exasperated on learning that Con- 
stantine had been preferred to him and to his children, that he remon- 
strated with the King, and ventured to remind him, before his departure, 
of the agreement made formerly with his father. 2 King Lothaire was 
dead, and Arthur now made that an excuse for considering the agreement 
at an end ; Mordred and his friends were accordingly silenced for a time, 
but no sooner was Arthur gone than Mordred began to endeavour to 
establish for himself the claim to what he conceived his rightful inherit- 
ance. 

His designs, however, did not at first discover themselves openly. 
Perhaps Mordred would never have carried them to such lengths, had he 
not been secretly favoured by Queen Guenever, who was attached to him, 
and from the first had desired to promote his views, and those of her 
countrymen, the Picts. 

When first Mordred had settled at the court of Arthur as heir appa- 
rent to his crown, he had received the hand of the daughter of Gawolan, 
a British lord much esteemed by Arthur, and sister, as is supposed, of 
the historian Gildas. 3 

Although Mordred had formed this alliance, and had offspring by his 
wife, he is said to have encouraged the Queen's passion privately, while 
both conspired against his uncle's crown. He was not long in assembling 
a party in his favour, composed of Picts, Scots, and Bretons, and of their 
cabals Guenever was not ignorant, having, as we are told, been " too 

1 Biog. Brit., Robinson. 5 Buchanan. 

3 Opposite Uphill, in Somersetshire, is the lofty island of Steep Holmes — a 
vast rock, inaccessible except by two passages, the summit sandy and unfruitful, 
producing few shrubs or vegetables. In this solitary spot, Gildas Badonicus. the 
ancient British historian and philosopher, surnamed "the Wise," pureued his 
literary studies, disturbed alone by the noisy sea-gulls, which build their nests 
amid the crevices of the rocks. Here, while the country was wasted with civil 
strife, was composed his celebrated work, "De excidie Britannia." But not even 
in this forlorn place of refuge did he long remain unmolested. A band of pirates, 
who had fled there to escape justice, settled in the island, and, by degrees, 
stripped the sage of the little he possessed, till, obliged to forsake the island, he 
lu-took himself to the Monastery of Glastonbury. He died about 570. — Collin- 
son's History of Somerset. 



214 GUENEVER III. 

familiar with Mordred." To fortify himself still more strongly against 
his uncle, Mordred entered into an alliance with the Saxons under Ethel- 
bert, the first King of Kent, who held his court in the town of Rich- 
borough, in the Isle of Thanet. 

Arthur, meanwhile, had been apprised of the deep injuries which he 
had sustained, and leaving his nephew Hoel, King of Armorica, to pursue 
his affairs abroad, returned with all haste to Britain. He succeeded in 
landing in Kent, where, at Eichborough, a bloody battle was fought, in 
which, though many of Arthur's friends were slain, Mordred was defeated 
and forced to fly to Winchester, whither the King pursued him. He 
was again defeated by Arthur at that city, and forced to fly into Cornwall. 

The final contest between the King and his nephew took place about a 
mile and a half from Camelford, 1 on the banks of the river Camblan, in 
Cornwall. Numbers fell on both sides during the engagement : the army 
of Mordred was totally routed, the Prince himself slain in the battle, 
while his brother Gawaine, who fought on the side of his patron the 
King, also lost his life. Arthur, mortally wounded, was conveyed from 
the field by his friends. His sister Morgwenna, 2 as recorded by all credi- 
ble historians, with her attendant maidens, conveyed the dying King in a 
barge along the shore to the Usella, which they ascended, and committed 
him to the care of his friends at Glastonbury, in Avalon, Somersetshire. 
There, in the monastery, Arthur remained during the brief period which 
preceded his death, for his wounds proved mortal. Finding himself be- 
coming hourly weaker, he resigned his crown to Constantine, the son of 
Cador, whom he had previously nominated his successor. Notwithstand- 
ing the tender care bestowed on the King by Morgwenna and her maidens, 
who were well versed in the female Druidical accomplishment of healing, 
Arthur died of his wounds, May 21st, A. D. 542. 3 Fearful that the news 
of his death would cast a damp over the Britons, and infuse courage into 
their Saxon foes, it was industriously circulated that Arthur was recover- 
ing j and Taliessin sang that Morgwenna had promised that if her brother 
remained a long time with her, she would cure his wounds; hence it 
happened that the return of Arthur was, for many ages after, one of the 
fondest hopes of the British people. 4 

As for Constantine, he was crowned by Arthur's subjects on the King 
resigning his crown, and this event was followed by the murder of the 
two young sons of his rival, Mordred, attributed by some authors to Con- 
stantine himself, though he had given them a promise of safety. This 
King is said to have cruelly slain the royal youths in the church with 
their two governors, even in the arms of their mother, to whose lap they 
flew for shelter, vainly beseeching her to protect them, nor could the 
intervention of the Abbot avail, who threw his cope over them, hoping 
that respect for his sacred robe would have withheld the murderers. 
Some attribute the deed to revenge for the death-wound of Arthur having 

1 During this battle, in which Mordred was killed and Arthur mortally wounded, 
the sun is said to have been twice eclipsed ! 
3 Called by romancers "The Fairy Morgana." 
1 Warner's Glastonbury. 4 Turner. 



GUE NEVER III. 215 

been dealt by Mordred, others to a resolution to extinguish the race of 
Mordred, lest they should aspire to the regal power which they might 
justly claim from their grandmother, the sister of King Arthur. 

On the dispersion of the clergy, Cuillog, the widow of Mordred, and 
her brothers, retired into Anglesey, where they built cloisters for religious 
purposes. 1 As Arthur had disinherited the young princes, sons of Cuil- 
log, it is not surprising that their uncle Gildas, the British historian, 
omitted the name of King Arthur in his work, or that he spoke ill in it 
of Constantine, who was his nephews' murderer, besides using many 
angry expressions in his epistle. 2 

It was only for a short time that Constantine preserved his power : the 
Saxons effected a landing in Britain, and after sustaining a defeat from 
them, he fled to Wales with his wife and children, where for some years 
he maintained his royal state. On the death of his Queen, he became 
weary of the world, and retired secretly into Ireland, where he spent 
some time in ministering to the poor. At last, becoming known, Con- 
stantine was persuaded to resign his crown to his son, and profess himself 
a monk in the Monastery of St. David, 3 being a sincere convert to the 
Christian faith. 4 He was afterwards sent into Scotland by the bishop 
of his diocese, to instruct the people there in the faith, and while in that 
country suffered martyrdom, for which, many years after, he was canon- 
ized as a saint; and many Scottish churches, according to Holinshed, 
were, in his time standing, built by the bishops of that country, and dedi- 
cated in the name of St. Constantine. 5 

To return to Queen Guenever. At the time that Mordred was first 
put to flight by Arthur, she was residing at the city of York, 6 but tidings 
being brought to her, that Mordred was unable to defend himself against 
the King, "she was sore dread, and had great doubt, and wist not what 
was best all for to be done ; for she wist well that her lord, King Arthur, 
would never of her have mercy for the great shame that she had him 
done ; and took her away privily with four men, without more, and came 
to Caerleon, and there she dwelled all her life's time, and never was seen 
among folke her life living." She professed herself a nun in the Church 
of St. Julius the Martyr, at Caerleon ; 7 and by the date discovered on 
her tombstone at Ambresbury, in Wiltshire, must have lived to a very 
advanced age. The monastery in which the Queen was buried, had been 
erected by Aurelius Ambrosius, Arthur's uncle, for the maintenance of 
three hundred monks, to pray for the souls of the British noblemen slain 
by Hengist. The Queen's tomb, says Kapin, was found there " within 
the last century." This author, thought the circumstance of Guenever 
surviving her husband for fifty years, threw discredit on the fact, but as 
she was the third of his wives, and not long united to him, she might 
not have been thirty years of age at the time of the King's death. 

The tomb of Guenever III. was more costly than that of her husband. 
"On its coverture it had, in rude letters of massy gold, B. G., A. D. 600. 

1 Holinshed, Milton. a Rowland's Mona. Antiqua. 

3 Butler, Holinshed. 4 Old Welsh MS. 

* Howel, however, declares that, at the end of a three years' reign, Constantine 
was slain by Conanus, and buried at Stoncheupje. 

Caxton. ' Ibid. 



216 GUENEVER III. 

The bones within this sepulchre were all firm, fair, yellow-coloured hair 
about the skull, and a piece of the liver about the size of a walnut, very 
dry and hard. Therein were found several royal habiliments, as jewels, 
veils, scarves, and the like, retaining, even till then, their proper colour ; 
all which were afterwards very choicely kept in the collection of the 
Right Honourable the Earl of Hertford, and of the aforesaid gold, divers 
rings were made, and worn by his lordship's principal officers." ' 

Arthur's first consort reposed in Scotland ; his second was interred at 
Glastonbury : to that monastery the King was conveyed after the fatal 
battle of Camelford, and the desire he had more than once fondly ex- 
pressed, to be laid by the side of his second wife, was faithfully complied 
with by his friends ; the funeral obsequies being managed by his sor- 
rowing sister Morgwenna with the greatest privacy, for the reason already 
mentioned, although many British nobles attended the mournful cere- 
mony. 2 The body of the King was placed sixteen feet deep under the 
ground to prevent the Saxons offering any indignity to the royal remains, 
in the event of their discovering the grave, the knowledge of which was 
kept a profound secret. 3 Many other British monarchs were interred in 
this famous place of sepulture, amongst whom were Coel, Kentwin, Edward 
the Elder, and Edmond Ironside. 4 The illustrious dead, whose remains 
lay in mouldering state in this abbey, were buried under the body of 
the church in three large vaults, supported by two rows of strong massive 
pillars. 

The body of Arthur was not discovered till 640 years after his death ; 5 
it took place in the reign of Henry II., A. D. 1172. 6 That King, at the 
time of the reduction of Ireland, " was passing through Wales, and at 
Pembroke was received with regal dignity by the "Welsh, on which occa- 
sion one of their bards, playing upon the harp, sang to the King, whilst 
he was at dinner, of the exploits of the great Arthur, wishing him the 
prosperity and victory which had attended that monarch. In the ballad 
an allusion was made to the place of Arthur's burial, said to be between 
two pyramids in the holy churchyard at Glastonbury, many feet deep. 
On his return from Ireland, the King informed Henry de Blois, then 
Abbot of Glastonbury, of what he had learnt from the ballad of the bard, 
and desired him to dig and search for the bones of the great King." 7 
The abbot did so, and, as some say, found these bones in the manner 
described by our historians, 8 among whom was Giraldus Cambrensis, who 
was an eye-witness of the fact. Some, however, say that this discovery 
was not made till 1189, after the accession of Richard I., when Henry de 
Saliaco was abbot, who was created in the first year of Richard's reign. 
Mr. Hearne considers this more probable than that it took place under 
Henry de Blois, the brother of King Stephen. 9 

King Henry II. informed the Abbot that he had heard from the Welsh 
bards that Arthur lay buried between two pyramids, very deep. The 
monastery contained two stone pillars, with many inscriptions illegible 
from the injuries of time and the antiquity of the writing. The tallest 

1 Gough's Sepulchral Monuments. See Jones's Stonehenge restored, and Mr. 
Ray's Itinerary, 1662, who was shown her gravestone. 
a Warner's Glastonbury. 3 Ibid. ' Willis's Abbeys. 5 Collinson. 

Warner. 7 Ibid. 8 Leland, Stowe. 9 Hearne's Glastonbury. 



GUENEVER III. 217 

of these was twenty-six feet high; the sculpture upon it could not be 
understood. Between these two pyramids " Arthur's body was found" 
buried, and marked in a hollow oak deep in the earth. There was found 
a cross of lead and a stone thereupon, and letters written within the cross 
turned towards the stone, which letters, says Higden, " I read and handled 
in this manner: ' Hie jacet sepultus inclytus rex Arturus cum Genevera 
uxore sua secunda in insula Avalonia/ i. e., ' Here lieth buried the noble 
King Arthur, with his second wife Guenever, in Avalon.' The bones 
were laid in the grave, so that the two parts of the grave toward the head 
contained the man's bones, and the third part, towards the feet, contained 
the woman's bones. There the yellow tresses of the woman's hair were 
found whole and sound, with fresh colour; 1 but a monk touched the hair 
covetously with his hands, and anon it fell all into powder." The bones 
of Arthur himself are described as being of extraordinary size, and were 
identified by the ten wounds in his skull. The bodies of the King and 
Queen had been laid fifteen feet deep in the ground, as the " singer of 
gestis" had reported to the King, in the hope that they would not be 
discovered by the Saxons, and were marked, as before related, for their 
identity ; and the discovery of them in this singular manner quite stag- 
gered the opinion held till then by the Welsh, that Arthur was still alive, 
and would return again to reign over his faithful people, and make them 
an independent nation. 2 

"After the spectators had gratified their curiosities, the abbot and his 
monks, with great satisfaction and reverence, took all the remains of the 
two bodies out of their separate coffins, and putting them into decent 
chests, made for the purpose, they deposited them first in a chapel, in the 
south alley of the church, till such time as a monument, suitable to the 
dignity of a king and queen, could be made for them, in the middle of 
the presbytery of the choir ; where, in finishing the church, they erected 
a stately mausoleum of touchstone, nobly engraven on the outside, in 
which they placed the King's body by itself, at the head of the tomb, 
and the Queen's at his feet, being the east side of it." This inscription 
was then placed : — 

" Hie jacet Arturus, flos Regum gloria regni, 
Quern mores probitas commendant laude perenni." 3 

1 Sharon Turner. 

3 The poet thus records the popular belief: — 

"But for he skaped y* battel y e wys, 
Bretons and Cornych seyeth thus 
That he levyth zut perde, 
And schall come and be a king aye. 
At Glastyngbury on the queer, 
They made Arter's tombe ther, 
And wrote with Latin vers thus: 
Hie Jacet Arturus, rex quondam, rexque futurus." 

[Chron. of Kings of England ; Fabian.] 

3 Five different epitaphs are attributed to Arthur's tomb, and some Saxon poetry 
was written to his memory. — Collinson. 

19 



218 GUENEVER III. 

And over Queen Guenever's bones was the following inscription : — 
" Arturi jacet hie conjux tumulata secunda, 
Quae meruit coelos virtutum prole fecunda." 

The remains of the royal Arthur and his Queen were after this allowed 
to rest in peace until the year 1248, when, we are informed that King 
Edward I. and his wife Queen Eleanor, partly out of devotion, and partly 
out of curiosity, came to Glastonbury, " attended by many of the topping 
men of the nation, clergy as well as nobility; ' where, upon the 19th of 
April, they caused King Arthur's tomb to be opened, and both the 
shrines to be taken out of the monument, which when the Court and its 
attendants had thoroughly viewed, King Edward opened the shrine 
wherein King Arthur's bones lay, and Queen Eleanor the chest wherein 
were those of Queen Guenever; and then each of them taking the 
respective bones out of their respective chests, they exposed them on two 
credences, on side-tables, near the high altar, till the next morning, for 
every one that had a mind to gratify their curiosity ; and early the next 
morning, being the Wednesday before Easter, the King and Queen, 
with great honour and respect, wrapt up all the bones (excepting the 
two skulls, which were set up, and to remain in the treasury) in rich 
shrouds or mantles, and placing them again in their separate shrines, the 
King put into that of Arthur, an inscription setting forth what they 
were. And then the King and Queen fixing their royal signets to each 
chest, they caused the chests to be placed in the old mausoleum, 2 where 
they remained undisturbed about two hundred and fifty years, that is to 
say, till the dissolution of the abbey, in the days of King Henry VIII. ; 
and " then this noble monument," saith Speed, " among the fatal over- 
throws of infinite more, was altogether rased at the dispose of some then 
in commission, whose over-hasty actions and too-forward zeal in their 
behalf hath left unto us the want of many truths, and caused to wist that 
some of their employments had been better spent." 3 

"At the same period of the dissolution of monasteries, was destroyed a 
little table, containing the story of the discovery of Arthur's tomb, and 
the leaden cross, with the inscription which had been set up in the mon- 
astery, and were seen by the great antiquary, Leland ; 4 the cross, in par- 
ticular, which had been placed there for exhibition, by command of the 
Abbot of Glastonbury, was regarded as one of the greatest curiosities of 
the abbey." 5 

1 The king paid this visit in the sixth year of his reign, accompanied hy Queen 
Eleanor, for the purpose of celebrating the feast of Easter, at his own expense, 
and was received with very great ceremony. The particulars of the royal visit, 
with the account of the second exhumation of the bodies of Arthur and Guenever 
(which took place on the Wednesday morning), are extracted from Mr. Eyston's 
" Little Monument," contained in the Appendix to Warner's History of Glaston- 
bury. 

* Tho abbot, Henry de Saliaco, is reported to be the author of the lines placed 
on his tomb. — Ilearne. 

Fabian places the translation of Arthur's remains into the new tomb in the 
year 1180; Biog. Brit, in 1189. 

3 Appendix to Warner's Glastonbury, from Eyston's Little Monument, &c. 

4 Biog. Brit. > Warner. 



BERTHA. 

The daughter of Caribert — The two maids of honour — Dangerous confidences — 
The entertainment given by Ingoberga to her husband — The wool-spinner — 
The King's anger — The Queen's divorce — Her rival's advancement — The Queen 
retires to a convent — Bertha's education — Proposals of marriage from King 
Ethelbert of England declined on account of religion — Mirofleda supplanted by 
her sister — Excommunication and death of Caribert — Consent of Bertha, and 
arrival of the newly-married pair in England — Reside at Canterbury — Bertha's 
zeal in the Christian faith — Pope Gregory and Augustine — Fear of the Roman 
missionaries — Ethelbert receives them well, and becomes a convert — Churches 
— The Pope's letters — Conversion of Redwald — Story of Edwin — Bertha's 
death — Epitaph — Eadbald's remorse — He marries Emma. 

Bertha is a Princess whose name cannot but excite peculiar interest, 
for her claims on the respect of posterity are no other than having first 
introduced Christianity amongst the princes of the Saxon Heptarchy. 

She was the daughter of Caribert, King of Paris, by Ingoberga, his 
first Queen ; and though some have supposed her their only child, she 
had two sisters, both of whom assumed the religious habit, one at Tours, 
the other at Poictiers. Notwithstanding Caribert was four times married, 
these three daughters were his only offspring ; so that the kingdom, at 
his death, devolved on his brother; the French laws not permitting the 
reign of a woman. 

The father of Bertha is said to have been passionately fond of the 
chase, for which amusement the fair Ingoberga was too often neglected. 
The Queen, in her sorrow for this desertion, confided her trouble to two 
young girls, her attendants of honour : in an evil hour was this impru- 
dent communication made. 

One of these maidens had escaped from the distasteful retirement of a 
conventual life to the more attractive scenes of a court; the other, an 
accomplished dancer and singer, was gifted with rare personal beauty. 
At their artful suggestion, the Queen invented a novel amusement for her 
husband, in hopes of securing more of his society, on which occasion the 
talents of her companions were exhibited. The King's admiration, on 
witnessing the performance prepared for his enjoyment, passed all bounds; 
and the unhappy Ingoberga soon saw that her plan had but too well suc- 
ceeded ; the actresses in this scene were soon her declared rivals in her 
husband's affections. She was so indignant at the infidelity of Caribert. 
that she determined to mortify and humble him in return for the insult 
offered to herself. The father of these girls was a common wool-spinner, 
and Ingoberga, who was aware of the circumstance, ordered him to come 
to her palace, and follow his usual avocation of spinning. While he was 
thus employed, she took Caribert into her apartments to witness his 

(219) 



220 BERTHA. 

labours. The stratagem so enraged the King, that he immediately ex- 
pelled Ingoberga from the palace, and having divorced her, Miroflede, the 
eldest daughter of the wool-spinner, was elevated to the post she had 
enjoyed, both in his throne and heart. 

The Queen sheltered herself in the seclusion of a convent under her 
misfortune, whither she was probably accompanied by her children. She 
devoted herself to prayers and charitable deeds ; and Gregory of Tours 
speaks of her as a woman of great wisdom, and constant practical piety, 
"unceasing in prayer, in mortification, and almsgiving;" besides which 
she set at liberty many persons suffering under the horrors of slavery. 1 

Under the superintendence of such a mother, the young Bertha had 
no doubt many advantages : she was possessed of great beauty and virtue, 
and so much esteemed for both, that even during the life of his father, 
the Saxon prince, Ethelbert, had made proposals for her hand. His 
overtures met, at first, with a decided refusal, on account of his religion ; 
for not only Caribert and Ingoberga were Christians, but their daughter 
professed the same faith j while Ethelbert, and the Saxons, over whom 
he ruled, were pagans. Subsequently, Bertha consented to the match, 
on condition of being freely permitted to pursue the religious exercises in 
which she had been brought up, 2 and to enjoy the counsels of Luidhard, 
Bishop of Soissons (or Senlis) : this request being accorded, she gave her 
hand to Ethelbert. 

Ingoberga must have deeply felt the parting from her daughter, her 
two other children being separated from her; and her heart was still 
more wounded by the conduct of their father, whose affections, estranged 
from herself, had not long been retained captive by the insolent Miroflede, 
who had been supplanted by her younger sister. 3 The latter had not only 
procured her disgrace, but was promoted to her queenly dignity. The 
clergy, however, so stroDgly felt the disgrace the King brought on him- 
self and the country, by marrying a nuu who had broken her vows, and 
who was the sister of his former consort, that they excommunicated both 
Caribert and his wife : the former consoled himself in the society of a 
new favourite, but died soon after, in (370. Ingoberga survived the last 
of her rivals, and died A. D. 578, at the age of seventy, twenty-seven 
years after she had been deprived of the regal dignity. 4 

On the arrival of Bertha in Britain, she and her husband Ethelbert 
took up their residence at Canterbury. The young foreign Princess soon 
became very popular among the Saxons : her accomplishments won their 
hearts, and her irreproachable conduct their esteem : her beauty also 
pleaded powerfully in her favour with them. Bertha was exceedingly 
zealous for the propagation of her faith, and the earnestness she threw 
into her exertions for the good cause ensured success. She made use of 
every legitimate art which her address could employ, to reconcile Ethel- 
bert to the principles of Christianity, and her exertions were at length 

1 Of this, Ingoberga is one of the earliest instances on record. 

2 Turner, Bede, Huntingdon. 

3 Anecdotes des Reines et Re"gentes de France. 

* Mezeray, Hume, Anecdotes des Reines et Regentes, &c. 



BERTHA. 221 

successful. Pope Gregory the Great, for that end, had employed the 
zealous Augustine ; but the honour of so great an enterprise as the bring- 
ing of a whole nation from the darkness of paganism to the light of the 
Gospel, is mainly due to the influence of Bertha. 

Besides Luidhard, several French chaplains attended on her, and an 
old temple, situated a little without the walls of Canterbury, had been 
assigned to her use for the performance of Christian worship. 1 Many 
persons about the court of Ethelbert, who soon after succeeded to the 
crown, were disposed in favour of the new faith by the exemplary con- 
duct of Bertha and Luidhard. 2 Some were made at once converts, others 
were willing to become so : such being the state of affairs in Kent, Bertha, 
perceiving the harvest was plenteous, but the labourers few in number, 
made an application for help in her pious labours ; first to the French, 
her own countrymen, and failing there, probably from the influence of 
her mother's rivals at court, appealed next to the Pope. Gregory the 
Great, the reigning Pontiff, was ambitious on his own part, of shining in 
an undertaking so glorious as the conversion of Britain. 

The Pontiff's feelings had first directed him to the enterprise, at the 
sight of some beautiful children exposed in the Roman slave mart ; 3 and, 
when, in answer to his inquiry whence they had come, he was told they 
were Angles : " Not Angles, but angels, 4 if converted/' was his cele- 
brated punning reply. The circumstance had fixed the desire on his 
mind ; when, therefore, Bertha, " Queen of the Angles," and the daugh- 
ter of Ingoberga, whose piety was known, and whose humane interest 
had so often set captives free, made an appeal to him on a subject which 
he had so warmly espoused, he lent a willing ear to her request. 

Regarding her favour, protection, and influence, as happy omens for 
the success of a Christian mission, he deputed Augustine, a monk of 
Bheims, and forty other persons, among whom were Mellitus, Justus, 
Paulinus, and Rufinian, to undertake a voyage to Britain, to accomplish 
the arduous enterprise. 

It was a perilous undertaking, in the opinion of the Roman mission- 
aries, who, before they had proceeded many miles, sent back Augustine 
to the Pope, with an entreaty that they might be excused from the office, 
and not be sent to a fierce and infidel nation, whose language they did not 
understand. Gregory would not admit their expostulations, and having 
written to that effect, exhorting them to persevere, they proceeded on 
their unwelcome expedition, taking with them French interpreters. They 
performed the voyage safely, and landed in the Isle of Thanet. On their 
arrival, they informed Ethelbert that they had come to offer him heaven 

1 Bower's History of the Popes ; Butler's Lives of Saints. 

- Butler, Bower, &c. 

* Gregory is said to have written to Candidus, steward of the patrimony of St- 
Peter in France, to buy such English slaves as were to be sold in that country, 
under the age of seventeen or eighteen, and send them to Rome to be brought up 
in the monasteries. As they were pagans, the Pope desired they might be at- 
tended in their journey by a Presbyter to baptise them, should he find any of 
them in danger of dying on the road. [Bower's History of the Popes.] 

4 Bede. 

19* 



222 BERTHA. 

and eternal happiness, in the knowledge of a God, with whom the Saxons 
were unacquainted. 

Ethelbert, through Bertha's influence, received the messengers of 
Christ with hospitality, and at the end of a few days appointed a meeting 
with them in the Isle of Thanet. It was a Saxon superstition that spells 
were ineffectual in the open air, and on this account, it was arranged that 
the interview between Ethelbert and Augustine should not take place in 
any dwelling. 

The procession of the Papal missionaries bore in its front a standard, 
on which was depicted a silver cross, with an image of our Saviour 
painted j as it advanced, litanies were chanted. Ethelbert's apprehen- 
sions were increased at the unusual spectacle; but the priestly train 
having taken seats by his command, the Gospel was preached and lis- 
tened to with the utmost attention by the Kentish King. 

Ethelbert was not immediately convinced of the truth of the new doc- 
trine propounded ; he, however, graciously replied to Augustine and his 
followers, of whose sincerity he was fully persuaded, promising that no 
opposition should be offered in his endeavours to obtain converts ; but, on 
the other hand, that they should be entertained during their stay in 
Britain. He accordingly ordered suitable provision to be made for their 
maintenance, and assigned for their abode a mansion in the city of Can- 
terbury. 1 By their holiness of living and excellent precepts, the priests 
obtained, from that time, universal respect and subsistence through the 
beneficence of Ethelbert, and the patronage of such Saxons as were won 
over to their belief. They daily performed the services in the church, 
which was dedicated to St. Martin, 2 in presence of the Queen, who went 
thither to pray. This ancient edifice, still used for divine service, stands 
on the side of a hill rising on the left hand of the road leading to Deal, 
within half a mile of the city walls; the body of the church is built of 
Roman bricks, of an architecture prior to the Saxon invasion. 

The learning, piety, and good example of the excellent Queen Bertha 
amply supported the Roman missionaries, in this their original condition, 
and her zeal and piety were eventually rewarded by the conversion, not 
only of the King, her husband, who was first to embrace the new faith, 
but of the whole nation, who followed the example of the throne. So 
much maybe accomplished by individual exertions; in spite of a weak 
frame, a mighty and a powerful heart can achieve wonders ; and thus had 
Bertha the glory of succeeding in her vast design of turning thousands 
from darkness and ignorance to the light and knowledge of the purest 
faith. The King was baptized on Whitsunday, A. D. 597, about a year 
after the arrival of Augustine. 3 Many others received the holy rite, un- 

1 Their lodging is said to have been in the parish of St. Alphege, in a place 
called Stablegate, which was then used as an oratorium by the King's household. 
[Thorne, Coxe, Roger of Wendover.] 

2 Augustine and his followers first met to sing, to pray, to say mass, and to 
baptise in St. Martin's Church, till, on Ethelbert becoming converted, they 
gained permission to build new and repair the old churches throughout his do- 
minions. 

3 MS. Chronicles of Canterbury ; Dugdale. 



BERTHA. 223 

biassed in their persuasion ; for Ethelbcrt, though he now seconded the 
Papal emissaries, desired that nothing should be done by compulsion. 
The very ancient font which still exists in the Church of St. Martin, at 
Canterbury, is said to be the same that was used at the baptism of 
Ethelbert. 

A small edifice of great antiquity, called St. Pancras Chapel, had been 
used by the Saxon King, prior to his conversion, as a private temple. It 
still stands to the east of the hospital in Canterbury, and to the south- 
easl of St. Augustine's monastery. The materials and architecture are 
Roman, and it is only thirty feet long by twenty-one in breadth. St. 
Martin's Church is some distance to the east of St. Pancras. 

The chapel of St. Pancras was afterwards purified by Augustine, and 
the idol placed in it was broken. The edifice was dedicated by the 
Roman bishop in the name of St. Pancras, a youth of fourteen, who 
suffered martyrdom under the reign of Dioclesian, in the persecution, A. D. 
304. This was the first church dedicated by Augustine, and the altar in 
the southern porch, at which, after Ethelbert's conversion, he was accus- 
tomed to celebrate mass, still stands there ; it occupies the spot on which 
had been placed a statue of the King. 

Ethelbert was not content with patronising Augustine and his followers ; 
upon his conversion he resigned his palace in Canterbury for their use, 
and retired to Reculver, in the Isle of Thanetj where he erected a royal 
residence for himself and his successors. 

According to Bede, there was already in existence, in the east part of 
Canterbury, when Augustine arrived, a building of about two or three 
hundred years old, which occupied the site of the present cathedral, and 
was the same as that given to the Roman missionaries. Augustine 
repaired and enlarged the edifice, dedicating it in the name of Christ. 

In 938 this church had become little better than a ruin by the attacks 
of the Danes, the walls being uneven, and in some places broken down, 
and the roof in so threatening a condition it could not be entered with 
safety. The fabric was repaired by Archbishop Odo; but the roof he 
built was burnt by the Danes, 1011, and only the walls remained. 
Canute restored the edifice ; but, after his time, it again fell to decay, so 
much so, that in 1070 Lanfranc was compelled to rebuild it almost from 
the foundation, though even then the ancient walls were not entirely 
thrown down. 

Behind the choir of Canterbury Cathedral, in the chapel of the Holy 
Trinity, erected about A. D. 1184, in honour of St. Thomas h Becker, 
stands the ancient patriarchal chair, in which the archbishops are enthroned ; 
and which, tradition records, was the regal seat of the Saxon Kings of 
Kent. It is formed of three pieces of grey marble, cut in panels; the 
under part being solid, like that of a seat cut out of a rock. 

The under-croft, or crypt, over which the choir of Canterbury Cathedral 
is raised — undoubtedly the most ancient part of the building — is con- 
sidered Saxon, and supposed to be that part of the old edifice left stand- 
ing by Lanfranc. The walls are perfectly destitute of ornament, and 
everything presents the aspect of the most venerable antiquity. Of the 
pillars, some are round, others twisted, and neither in shafts nor capitals 



224 BERTHA. 

are there two of them alike. The circumference of most of the shafts is 
ahout four feet, and the height of shaft, plinth, and capital, only six feet 
and a half. From these spring semicircular arches, making a vaulted 
roof of the height of fourteen feet. 

The church architecture of the Saxons seems to have been of the Ro- 
man style, and an adaptation of the buildings found by them on their 
arrival here. The Britons had, shortly before the coming of the Saxons, 
besides their wattled and wooden churches, some stone edifices, like 
those of St. Martin and St. Pancras, at Canterbury, but not constructed 
in a style resembling the edifices which followed the doctrines of the 
supreme Pontiff. " They had no crypts under them for reliques ; they 
were not supported by arches and columns ; these arches and columns 
were not adorned with the images of saints and legendary stories ; their 
shape was not cruciform ; they had no oratories in the aisles, nor were 
they glazed. This was the Roman style, as precisely delineated by Bede, 
Eddius, Richard Prior of Hexham, and contradistinguished from the 
British." ' 

Before Augustine's time many Saxons had been converted by the 
Welsh and Irish clergy, but their native buildings were as mean as the 
British. After the arrival of the Roman missionaries, and the conver- 
sion of Ethelbert, it became fashionable to adopt whatever was connected 
with the Papal power, and to decry the native arts. At a later period 
the Saxon prelates were either educated at Rome, or attached to its doc- 
trines, hence they patronized the Roman style of architecture in the 
edifices erected under their superintendence in Britain. Of this number 
were Ninian, who built the stone church at Whitherne 2 (Candida Casa) 
in Galloway ; Benedict Biscop, founder of one at Weremouth ; Naiton, 
who solicited Abbot Ceolred to send him architects to construct a church 
after the Roman fashion ; and Wilfred, who built the church at Hexham, 
with others mentioned by Bede. As the Saxons, at their coming to 
Britain, did not understand masonry, they had to send for foreigners to 
build their churches and monasteries. Thus the sculptures which adorn 
our capitals and arches, and are designated the Saxon ornaments and 
Saxon style, were not invented, but patronized by that people, and were 
as different as possible from the British forms of architecture, being de- 
rived from the more cultivated and polished Romans. 

There had been established in Britain, long before the arrival of Hen- 
gist, a Roman architecture : while the same style as our Anglo-Saxon 
churches is found to prevail in the East, to the surprise of those who 
know that those buildings were erected prior to the arrival of the Saxons 
in Britain. All the principal churches in the East were, however, built 
by a British Queen, as related in the Life of St. Helena, to whom the 
Pope compared the pious Bertha, Queen of Ethelbert; and they, like the 
Anglo-Saxon churches, had a Roman origin. Helena was the greater 
part of her life in Britain, and her husband Constantius was a great 
architect, which facts simplify the whole matter. 

The crypt or undercroft of Canterbury Cathedral, ascribed by Arch- 

' Ledwich. 2 Lappenberg. 



BERTHA. 225 

deacon Batteley to the believing Romans, 1 " remained unalterably the 
same amid all the conflagrations and repairs the cathedral underwent," 2 
and singularly enough, the capitals of the columns, and the Egyptian hiero- 
glyphical figures upon them, carry us back to the age of Constantine, 
"son of Helena," who had served in the Egyptian wars under Galerius. 
These figures are delineated by Ledwich in his interesting work. 3 

Bertha, anxious to promote the good cause, and spread the Gospel to 
the farthest bounds of the kingdom, engaged some persons to come over 
to her from France to assist in the pious undertaking. Gregory, on his 
part, enjoined Augustine to remove the idols from the heathen altars, but 
not to destroy the altars themselves; because the people held the spot 
sacred, and would therefore be more likely to carry on the Christian wor- 
ship in its precincts. The people were in the habit of feasting at their 
pagan festivals, on the offerings of the altar, after they had been pre- 
sented, together with their priests : the Pope desired Augustine not to 
encourage such entertainments among the converted Anglo-Saxons. By 
his order Augustine visited France, and was ordained Archbishop of the 

1 Osborne says it was founded before a. d. 742. 2 Ledwich. 

3 Antiquities of Ireland (Observations on Saxon and Gothic Architecture). 

No. 1 has on it the cat, adored in Egypt, and supposed to supply a cure against 
the bite of asps and other venomous animals: a symbol of Isis. 

No. 2. An Egyptian grotesque — a hawk killing a serpent. The hawk wor- 
shipped in Egypt for freeing the country from snakes, scorpions, and other rep- 
tiles. 

No. 3. An ideal quadruped, resembling the Egyptian gryphon, having the 
beak, talons, and wings of an eagle, and body of a lion. The gryphon was 
sacred to Osiris. It is here represented killing some noxious bird or serpent. 

No. 4. A gladiator or criminal engaged with a lion. 

No. 5. A horseman with a cap and trowse. 

No. 6. A sheep, to which the Egj'ptians paid divine honour. 

No. 7. An equestrian figure. 

No. 8 is a purely Egyptian figure — a double-headed Anubis bestriding a double- 
headed crocodile ; Anubis being inseparably the companion of Isis. 

No. 9. A man sitting on the head of another, holding in one hand a fish, and 
in the other a cup : an allusion to Isis. 

No. 10. A double-headed monster. 

No. 11. A bird destroying a crocodile, or some serpent of the lizard kind. 

No. 12. A satyr resting on two deer. 

No. 13. Two birds on a Roman masque. 

No. 14. A grotesque, with the head and comb of a cock, the body and arms 
human, the shoulders winged, with the feet and tail of a satyr, playing on a 
violin with a bow; behind is a scalene triangle. Opposite is another grotesque, 
blowing a trumpet, with the head and horns of a goat, the lower extremities hu- 
man. That these are Egyptian hieroglyphical figures is confirmed by various 
authors. The triangle denoted Orus, son of Isis and Osiris. From the figures 
on the capitals contained in the crypt, it was likely to have been an Iseum or 
Roman chapel, sacred to Isis, and an early imitation of Roman models. There 
seems little doubt that this building was erected long prior to the coming of the 
Saxons, by the Romans, most probably under Constantine. The grotesques ex- 
hibited on the capitals were mostly confined to crypts, and derived from the ec- 
centricities of Egyptian superstition. Similar instances are to be seen in the 
vaults at Hexham, which, like Canterbury, was a Roman station ; and in which 
may be found fragments of Roman inscriptions, grotesque figures, and much 
carved stone work." [Porphyry, Tertullian, Montfaucon, Hutchinson.] 

P 



226 BERTHA. 

English by the Archbishop of Aries. After he returned, he sent a de- 
putation to Rome, to inform the Pope of the success of his mission, and 
to request the solution of some theological questions. An embassy from 
Gregory brought back the answers required, with instructions to the 
priests to exert themselves in the diffusion of the light of the Gospel ; 
they brought over vessels and vestments for the altar, copes, relics, &c, 
with a letter and presents to King Ethelbert. The Pope's letter to the 
Anglo-Saxon monarch, bears date the 10th day of the Calends of June, 
A. D. 601, ' and may be seen in Bede, or in the History of Radulf de 
Diceto : the one here transcribed is from the latter : 

" Pope Gregory to Ethelbert, King of the Angles. 

" Glorious son, guard with solicitude the faith which thou hast divinely 
received. Hasten to spread the Christian faith among the peoples sub- 
ject to thee ; multiply the zeal of thy rectitude in their conversion ; pro- 
scribe the worship of idols, and destroy their temples. For God himself 
will render the name of your glory even more glorious to posterity, seek- 
ing as you do his honour among nations saved. So it was that Constantine, 
the most pious Emperor, reclaimed the Roman state from the profane 
worship of idols, and subjected it to Almighty God. And thus it came 
to pass, that this man vanquished by his praises the fame of the ancient 
princes, and surpassed his predecessors by continued well-doing." 
" Pope Gregory to Bertha, Queen of the Angles. 

" "We bless Almighty God, who hath graciously vouchsafed to reserve 
for your reward the conversion of the people of the Angles. For, as 
through the memorable Helena, the mother of the most pious Constan- 
tine, Emperor of the Romans, the hearts of the Romans were kindled 
to the Christian faith ; so, by the zeal of your glory, we are confident the 
mercy of God is operating among the people of the Angles." 
" Pope Gregory to Augustine, Bishop of the Angles. 

u Who may sufl&ce to recount what gladness has arisen in the hearts 
of all the faithful, that the people of the Angles, by the operation of the 
Almighty's grace, and by thy brotherly labour, have, upon the expulsion 
of the darkness of error, been penetrated by the light of the holy faith ; 
that with integrity of mind they now trample on the idols to which an 
insane fear had before subjected them; that they are prostrated before Al- 
mighty God in a pure heart ; that from the lapses of wickedness they 
are tied to the restraints of holy preaching ; that in soul they are brought 
under, and in understanding are lifted up to, the divine precepts ; that 
thoy humble themselves even to the earth, in order that their mind may 
not rest in earth. Of whom is this work but of Him who saith ' My 
father worketh hitherto, and I work.' " 

Many rich vestments, vessels, relics, and a pall, given by St. Gregory 
to St. Austin, were afterwards kept in the monastery of St. Austin, at 
Canterbury. Their original inventory, drawn up by Thomas of Elmham, 
in the reign of Henry the Fifth, is preserved in the Harleian Library, 

1 Bede. 



BERTHA. 227 

and published by Mrs. E. Elstob, at the end of a Saxon panegyric on 
St. Gregory. 

" The pall sent by Gregory, was for Augustin to say mass in. This 
pallium sent by the Popes to archbishops, is an ornament worn 
upon their shoulders, with a lappel hanging down upon the breast and 
back. It is made with white lamb's-wool and spotted with purple 
crosses." ' The first Christian Emperors gave this imperial ornament 
to eminent bishops ; it is recorded as one of the gifts bestowed by the 
British Emperor Constantine on Pope Sylvester. 

The letter of Gregory to Augustine directs that the pallium shall only 
be worn during the solemnity of mass. It likewise directs that bishops 
for twelve places, subordinate to his own see, shall be appointed, amongst 
which was to be one for London, who was to be consecrated by his own 
synod, and to receive a pallium from Rome. A bishop of York is to 
be ordained, with power to ordain twelve subordinate bishops, and the 
Pope expresses his design of bestowing on him also the pall. The 
Bishop of London was to take precedence of his brother Bishop of York, 
as being first ordained, but to have no power over him. 

Mellitus, the Roman Abbot, who came to England in 601, was conse- 
crated by Augustine, Bishop of London, 604, and having succeeded Lau- 
rentius in the Archbishopric of Canterbury, died April 24, 624. 

There had been a progression of events, meanwhile, in other parts of 
Britain. Three more kingdoms, Northumberland, East Anglia, and 
Essex, had become established ; the last of these was founded by Uffa, 
the survivor of twelve Saxon princes, who had landed on the eastern 
coast of Britain about five years after Bertha's marriage. Redwald, 
King of the East Angles, had been brought up in the pagan doctrines ; 
but, through the incessant exertions of King Ethelbert, was led to re- 
nounce the worship of idols, and in 609 was baptized at Canterbury. 2 
The dominions of Redwald comprised Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, the 
Isle of Ely, and part of Bedfordshire. 3 The Kings of East Anglia had 
several royal residences, one at Rendlesham in Suffolk, and another at 
Ely : at the first of these Redwald built a church, on his conversion to 
Christianity. The principal abode of Redwald was at Kaninghall, of 
which the ruins are yet to be seen, near which coins and various anti- 
quities have from time to time been dug up ; and Thetford, another royal 
abode of East Anglia, is even now filled with ruins of religious houses 
above all other towns in England. 

The conversion of Redwald led to very important results. The court 
of this Prince had become the asylum of the fugitive Prince Edwin, who, 
when an iufant, had been deprived of his patrimonial inheritance, the 
crown of Northumberland, by Ethelfrid the Wild, who had married his 
sister Acha, both being children of Alia, first King of Deira. Finding, 
after a time, that his life was no longer secure at the Northumbrian court, 
Edwin sought the protection first of Cadwan, King of Wales, who dwelt 
at Caer Segont, whose wife was a relation of Quenburga, his own consort, 

J Butler. 2 Rapin, Turner, Butler. 2 Usher, Whittakex, Butler 



228 BERTHA. 

daughter of Ceoil, King of Mercia. The protection afforded by Cadwan, 
gave umbrage to Ethelfrid, who shortly after repudiated Acha. 

Edwin, however, finding that Cadwan was in danger from his stay, left 
his retreat, and wandered from court to court, no Prince daring to protect 
him, through dread of his formidable enemy. Such was his life during 
twenty-seven years, until, at the age of thirty, he obtained an asylum 
with the East Anglian King, and by his amiable qualities and noble 
demeanour, engaged the respect and esteem of Redwald and his subjects. 
Ethelfrid offered rich presents to the East Anglian, to induce him to 
deliver up his guest, or put him secretly to death ; but the King after 
withstanding many such offers, at last was tempted to deliberate, feeling 
his inequality in strength to Ethelfrid. 1 At this moment, which threat- 
ened such peril to Edwin, an unexpected friend arose. The unfortunate 
Prince was made acquainted by the Queen of Redwald of what had trans- 
pired. His confidence in her husband's honour and generosity had at first 
won her regard, and his many amiable qualities riveted her esteem. 

Edwin would not avail himself of the opportunity thus afforded for 
escape, but waited calmly the result. Meanwhile, the Queen sought her 
husband. Availing herself of her well-known influence, this noble- 
spirited woman resolved, if possible, to save her husband from the dis- 
honourable act he was about to commit. She told him : " It stood not 
with the high and sacred state of a King, to buy and sell the bodies of 
men, as it were a petty chapman; or that which is more dishonourable 
and slave-like, to sell away his faith, a thing which he ought to hold more 
precious than all the gold and gems of the whole world, yea, than his 
own life." 2 

While Edwin was, therefore, yet occupied in pondering over this unex- 
pected turn of affairs, the messenger of the Queen, whose name, which 
should have been written in letters of gold, as a glory to her sex, is unfor- 
tunately lost, informed him that Redwald had been inspired with better 
thoughts, and refused to yield up his guest. 3 

The Queen carried her generous influence yet further; for, at her 
request, Redwald levied an army, and marched against Ethelfrid. The 
Northumbrian King was slain in the engagement which followed, when 
Redwald completed his triumph, by entering Northumberland as its con- 
queror ; and far from taking for his own any portion of that district, 
placed Edwin in security on the throne of his ancestors. 4 This magna- 
nimous conduct procured for Redwald the dignity of Emperor of the 
Saxons in Britain, and entitled him to be called the " British Aristides." 

The u Villa Regia," or seat of the Northumbrian monarchs, was Os- 
mundthorpe, in Yorkshire ; at which place may still be seen a piece of 
stained glass, representing a King with a crown, sword, and shield, bear- 
ing the arms of the Kingdom of East Anglia, while a local tradition 
relates, that at that spot, Edwin, King of Northumberland, was hospi- 
tably entertained by Redwald, and reinstated in his dominions. 5 

In spite of this fine action, worthy of a Christian, after returning into . 

1 Hume, Rapin. a Camden, from Bede. s Rapin. 

* Allen's History of York. 6 Hutchinson, Rapin, Hume. 



BERTHA. 229 

East Anglia, Redwald is said to have relapsed into idolatry, the very 
same year, 1 though without wholly forsaking the Christian faith; for, in 
the temple in which sacrifices to Odin were performed by his order, was 
contained two altars, one dedicated to Christ, and another to idols. The 
latter, Bede assures us, lasted to the time of Adulf, King of East Anglia, 
his own contemporary, who mentioned that he had seen it when a boy. 
So singular a combination rather promoted than retarded the progress of 
Christianity, by awakening the attention of the people. The return to 
idolatrous worship of Redwald, is ascribed to the influence of his Queen, 
who is described by Langhorne as "a woman of great mind and remark- 
able prudence, but too much given to idolatry." Guthrie says : " Though 
she possessed the virtues, she had not the graces of Christianity, being 
averse to its religion ; yet, the generous protection she afforded to Edwin, 
and the noble sentiments with which she inspired her husband, together 
with the great veneration the nation had for her family, give us the 
highest idea of her spirit and good sense." 2 

At a subsequent period, Ethelburga Tate, the daughter of Queen Ber- 
tha, became the wife of Edwin, with whom, perhaps, an acquaintance had 
commenced at the court of Redwald, during his exile. 

The husband of Queen Bertha, besides assisting Sebert, his nephew, 
(converted through his means), in the erection of the Monastery of St. 
Peter's, "Westminster, built the Cathedral of Rochester, which he dedi- 
cated to St. Andrew. To him belonged the glory of abolishing idol-wor- 
ship throughout his dominions, and of either closing the temples of 
paganism, or converting them to the service of Christ. In all his great 
undertakings, Ethelbert was assisted by Queen Bertha, though her name 
does not prominently appear, except on the occasion of the grand religious 
revolution, brought about through her pious zeal, and which may be said 
to have occasioned an intercourse with foreign countries, which greatly 
tended to improve the Saxons. 

The remains of Queen Bertha, whose death preceded that of Ethel- 
bert, were deposited, at her death, in the porch of the Church of St. 
Martin, at Canterbury, where also rested those of the future saint, Au- 
gustine, who died before his regal friend and patron, and of Luidhard, 
the French bishop, — the new cathedral of Canterbury being yet uncon- 
secrated. 3 

After the loss of Bertha, Ethelbert, probably feeling the blank in his 
domestic happiness occasioned by that circumstance, married a second 
Queen ; yet at his own death, in 616, he was buried by the French 
Princess's side, in St." Martin's Porch, within the Church of St. Peter 

1 Echard, Guthrie. 

3 Sigebert, her son by a former husband, being sent to France on her marriage 
to Redwald, the usurper of his rights, became the dependant guest and protege 
of Clothair, the French monarch, and eventually, on the death of his half-bro- 
ther, Earpwold, mounted the East Anglian throne. Edwin, restored to his in 
heritance of Northumberland, declined, on Redwald's death, the proffered crown 
of his benefactor, awarding it to his son Earpwold, whose mother had so be* 
friended him in adversity. 

3 Chron. of W. Thorn. 
20 



230 BERTHA. 

and St. Paul. 1 His remains were afterwards deposited under the high 
altar in the same church, 2 and a light was kept constantly burning before 
his tomb. 3 The memory of his piety and virtues caused him to be after- 
wards canonized as a saint, and to be honoured, on February 24th, the 
day of his death, in Roman and Saxon martyrologies under the name, 
endeared in our own times, of Albert. 

The epitaph on Queen Bertha, preserved by Leland, may be translated 
thus : — 

J " Adorned with virtues, here lies the blessed Queen Bertha, who was 
,:'n favour with God, and greatly beloved by mankind." 
I About the middle of the eighth century, another Queen of Kent dis- 
tinguished herself by her exertions in favour of Christianity. This was 
Aldeburga, wife of Ethelbert, who reigned jointly with his brother, 
Eadbert, A. D. 725. While the King, her husband, was still a heathen, 
Aldeburga re-established the deserted church of St. Martin, and the hymn 
and the prayer were again heard within its consecrated walls. 4 

In 616, Archbishop Lawrence consecrated the new edifice at Canter- 
bury, and removing the body of St. Augustine thither, buried it in the 
north porch. 

If Ethelbert's object in choosing a second consort had been to secure a 
protector for his young family, he certainly erred in judgment ; for his 
second consort was unworthy to succeed the pious Bertha. Eadbald was 
his father's successor, and had no sooner mounted the throne, 616, than 
he married the Queen, his mother-in-law, with whom he was passionately 
in love, she being very young and very beautiful. 

Laurentius, successor of Augustine, finding not only that Eadbald, 
after this marriage, had returned to idolatry, but that his example had 
influenced his subjects to do the same, prepared to depart into France, 
his preaching here producing so little fruit : Mellitus and Justus, his 
companions, had already quitted the country, but he resolved, before he 
did so, to make one more effort to reclaim the abandoned son of the great 
Ethelbert and pious Bertha, the protectors of the Christian faith. He 
was perhaps the more induced to take this step, by the fact that Eadbald, 
since his crime, had " been troubled with frequent fits of madness, and 
oppressed of an evil spirit, 6 his guilty conscience being its own accuser. 
Suddenly appearing before the King, the good prelate threw off his vest- 
ments, exhibiting to Eadbald a body torn with stripes and bruises. The 
King inquired who had dared to treat in such a manner one of so high 
a rank as the Archbishop ; when he was told that St. Peter, Prince of 
the Apostles, had appeared to him in a vision, and bestowed on him that 

' The ridiculous Latin lines upon Ethelbert, given by Stowe and Weever, are 
thus rendered: — 

"King Ethelbert lieth here, 
Closed in his polyander : 
For building churches sure he goes 
To Christ without meander." 
" Rex Ethelburtus hie clauditur in polyandro, 
Fana pians certe Christo meat abque meandro." 
a Bede. 3 Polydore Vergil. * Palgrave. * Bede. 



BERTHA. 231 

chastisement, with a severe reprimand, for his intending to desert his 
charge. Eadbald was so struck by the miracle, that he returned to his 
former faith, and divorcing himself from his mother-in-law, received the 
rite of baptism from Laurentius. The people, imitating their ruler, were 
also restored to the faith of Christ. 1 Mellitus and Justus were recalled 
from France by Eadbald, the former to the see of Rochester, and the 
latter to that of London, but the Londoners could not be persuaded to 
receive him, Eadbald having less influence than his father. The King 
passed the rest of his life in piety and penitence ; and to expiate his sins, 
founded a college within the walls of Dover Castle, which Wightred, one 
of his successors, removed into the town, and stored with twenty-two 
canons, dedicating it to St. Martin, A. D. 725. 2 

The converted King married Emma, daughter of Theodobert, King of 
Austrasia, now Lorraine. This lady became the mother of three children, 
Ermenred, Ercombert, and Enswitha. The eldest son died in his father's 
lifetime, but Ercombert was destined to revive the faded glory of his 
family; Enswitha, emulating the piety of her grandmother Bertha, of 
blessed memory, founded the Abbey of Folkestone, in Kent, and, having 
assumed the religious habit, presided over it as abbess till her death, 
when her name and virtues were enrolled in the saintly calendar, August 
31st, the day of her departure from this life. 

Eadbald reigned twenty-five years, and dying, was interred near his 
father, in a little chapel built by himself, in honour of the Virgin Mary. 
Queen Emma, whom one of our poets 3 has designated as — 

" Lady Emme, of France the chosen flower," 
died the following year, and was laid by the side of her husband, both 
their remains being deposited at the altar of St. John. 

1 Eapin, Hume. 

s This edifice was afterwards rebuilt, in Henry the First's reign, by Archbishop 
William Corbeil, a. d. 1132, whose successor, Frebold, placed Benedictine monks 
in it, and called it " The New Work at Dover." It was surrendered November 
loth, 27 Henry VIII., the yearly value being £282 10s. 5§d. 

3 Bradshawe. 



ETHELBURGA "THE SILENT," AND ENFLEDA, 

QUEENS OF EDWIN "THE GREAT" AND OSWY. 

Marriage of Ethelburga to Edwin — Paulinus — His zeal — The Life of Edwin at- 
tempted — A daughter, Enfleda, born — She is dedicated by her father to God — 
Pope Boniface — His letters — Coiffi, the priest — His famous speech and act — 
Edwin becomes a Christian — Hilda first appears — Numerous converts in Nor- 
thumberland — Edwin's progresses — The Tufa — Edwin killed in battle against 
Penda — Eadfrid murdered — Ethelburga seeks protection with her brother, the 
King of Kent, accompanied by Paulinus — She sends her sons to France : they 
die there — She founds a nunnery, and takes the veil — Her acts of charity — 
The Danes — Enfleda demanded in marriage by Oswy — The voyage and the 
jars of oil — The marriage — Enfleda builds the Monastery of Tinemouth— Wil- 
fred — Enfleda's daughter dedicated to God — Csedmon, the poet — The Synod at 
Whitby — The mother and daughter — The spirit of the Abbess. 

This lady who, unlike the generality of her sex, became renowned for 
taciturnity, and Enfleda, her daughter, were Queens of Northumberland. 
Their history being intimately connected, it has been thought better to 
unite the record of their lives. 

Ethelburga " Tate," or " the Silent," was the daughtor of Ethelbert 
and his pious Queen Bertha, and was educated in the Christian faith. 
Ethelburga's beauty and virtues were destined to atone to Edwin the 
Great, King of Northumberland, for his many troubles. 

Edwin was twenty-three years of age when he mounted the throne, 
and at the time when he married Ethelburga, was in his thirty-first year. 
Quenburga, whom he had espoused when very young, had not lived to 
behold her husband reinstated in his rights : she died while he was an 
exile, leaving two sons, Osfred and Edfred. 

It was about the year 624 that Edwin sent ambassadors to the court 
of Kent, to demand the hand of the Princess Ethelburga. Her parents 
were dead ; but their son Eadbald sat upon the throne, and Edwin was 
most desirous to strengthen himself by an alliance with him. Eadbald 
gave his consent to his sister's marriage ; but not without making certain 
stipulations, which were rendered necessary by Edwin's being a follower 
of Paganism. As Ethelburga was a Christian, her brother required that 
she should be allowed to follow that religion without restriction, and be 
permitted to have her own ministers to officiate. Edwin, on receiving 
this answer by his ambassadors, undertook that he would not in any way 
whatever oppose the Princess in her religious exercises, but would, on 
the contrary, permit her, and all whom she might bring with her, to 

(232) 



ETIIELBURGA. 233 

follow their faith according to the principles of Christianity. More than 
this, he declared that he would himself emhrace that doctrine, if, on 
examination by means of wise men appointed for the purpose, it should 
prove more holy and worthy of God than his own. On this, Ethelburga 
was promised to Edwin, and Pauliuus, " a man beloved of God," ordained 
bishop, that he might accompany the royal bride into Northumberland. 1 
It was hoped that this excellent prelate, by his daily exhortations, and 
exercising the mysterious offices of the faith, would not only confirm the 
hearts of the Princess and her attendants, but prevent their becoming 
corrupted by the society of the Pagans. 2 

The marriage of Ethelburga, the Christian, to the Pagan King, Edwin, 
was solemnised at the royal city of York, a.d. 625. 3 

It was on Easter Sunday, in 626, the year following, that an attempt 
was made on the life of Edwin, by a person in the employ of the King 
of Wessex. Eumer — for so the man was called — under pretence of con- 
veying a message, obtained admittance to the royal presence, when, draw- 
ing his dagger, he rushed on the King. The faithful Lilla, one of 
Edwin's officers, perceiving his master's danger, interposed his own body, 
and received the wouud, which had been dealt so violently that the 
dagger, after piercing Lilla, even wounded Edwin ; before, however, the 
assassin could repeat the blow, he was despatched by the royal 
attendants. 4 

Scarcely had the grateful King returned thanks to the gods for his 
own preservation, when Paulinas appeared with the welcome tidings that 
his Queen Ethelburga had just been safely delivered of a daughter, its 
birth supposed to have been hastened by the alarm of the recent event. 
Paulinus immediately gave thanks to Christ for both these joyful occur- 
rences, and upon that, strove to persuade the King that through his 
prayers to the Saviour, Ethelburga had been enabled to bring forth her 
child in safety. Edwin, delighted with the words of the priest, and the 
happy tidings of which he had been the bearer, promised, that in case 
God would grant him life and victory over the King who had armed the 
hand of an assassin against him, he would renounce the worship of idols. 
As an earnest of this promise, he delivered over his newly-born daughter 
to Paulinus, to be forthwith consecrated to the service of Christ. 
Enfleda — for that was the name bestowed on the royal infant — was the 
first baptized of the Northumbrian nation. The solemn rite was per- 
formed on Whitsunday, and twelve other members of the royal family 
were baptized with the little princess. 5 

Malton, in Yorkshire, was the birthplace of Enfleda, and the scene of 
Edwin's escape from the dagger of Eumer. The King had a royal villa 
at this place, where he was at that time residing. Brompton, a village 
between Malton and Scarborough, was another royal residence of the 
Kings of Northumberland. 6 

' The first Abbot of Bardney, named Deda, according to Bede, described Pau- 
linus as tall of stature, a little stooping, his hair black, his visage meagre, his 
nose slender and aquiline, his aspect both venerable and majestic. 

a Bede. 3 Hutchinson, Harding. " Hume 

• Bede. 6 Allen's History of York. 

20* 



234 ETHELBURGA. 

As soon as Edwin recovered from his wound, which was at first alarm- 
ing, he marched against the West Saxons, and having defeated his ene- 
mies, put to the sword all those who had sought his life. ' 

His consort, emulating the glory of her mother Bertha, had, in the 
meantime, left no argument untried which could influence her husband to 
adopt the Christian faith, and extended the same care towards his North- 
umbrian subjects. 2 Pope Boniface, learning the exertions made by 
Ethelburga for the propagation of the doctrines of Christ, encouraged the 
undertaking, by himself addressing a letter to Ethelburga, exhorting her 
to persevere in her holy purpose ; he sent, at the same time, a letter to 
her royal husband. Of these letters, both of which are preserved by 
Bede, we select that addressed to Ethelburga, who was the undoubted 
means of introducing the faith into Northumberland. 

" The copy of the letter of the most blessed and apostolic Boniface, Pope 
of the city of Borne, to Ethelburga, King Edwin's Queen. 

" To the illustrious lady, his daughter, Queen Ethelburga, Boniface, 
Bishop, servant of the servants of God. The goodness of our Bedeemer 
has, with much providence, offered the means of salvation to the human 
race, which he rescued by the shedding of his precious blood, from the 
bonds of captivity to the devil : so that making his name known in divers 
ways to the Gentiles, they might acknowledge their Creator by embracing 
the mystery of the Christian faith, which thing, the mystical regeneration 
of your purification, plainly shows to have been bestowed upon the mind 
of your highness by God's bounty. Our mind, therefore, has much re- 
joiced in the benefit of our Lord's goodness, for that he has vouchsafed, 
in your conversion, to kindle a spark of the orthodox religion, by which 
He might the more easily inflame in His love the understanding, not 
only of your glorious consort, but also of all the nation that is subject to 
you. For we have been informed by those who came to acquaint us with 
the laudable conversion of our illustrious son, King Eadbald, that your 
Highness also, having received the wonderful sacrament of the Christian 
faith, continually excels in the performance of works pious and acceptable 
to God ; that you likewise carefully refrain from the worship of idols, and 
the deceits of temples and auguries, and having changed your devotion, 
are so taken up with the love of your Bedeemer, as never to cease lend- 
ing your assistance for the propagation of the Christian faith. And our 
fatherly charity having earnestly inquired concerning your illustrious hus- 
band, we were given to understand, that he still served abominable idols, 
and would not yield obedience or give ear to the voice of the preachers. 
This occasioned us no small grief, for that part of your body still remained 
a stranger to the knowledge of the supreme and undivided Trinity. 
Whereupon we, in our fatherly care, did not delay to admonish your 
Christian Highness, exhorting you, that with the help of the Divine in- 
spiration, you will not defer to do that, which, both in season and out of 
vseason, is required of us ; that with the co-operating power of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, your husband also may be added to the number 
of Christians, to the end that you may thereby enjoy the rites of marriage 

' Hutchinson and Burke. 2 Hume. 



ETHELBURGA. zd5 

in the bond of a holy and unblemished union. For it is written, ' they 
shall be in one flesh.' How can it be said, that there is unity between 
you, if he continues a stranger to the brightness of your faith, by the in- 
terposition of dark and detestable error? Therefore, applying yourself 
continually to prayer, do not cease to beg of the Divine mercy the benefit 
of his illumination ; to the end, that those whom the union of carnal 
affection has made in a manner but one body, may, after death, continue 
in perpetual union, by the bond of faith. Persist, therefore, illustrious 
daughter, and to the utmost of your power, endeavour to soften the hard- 
ness of his heart, by insinuating the Divine precepts ; making him sensi- 
ble how noble the mystery is which you have received by believing, and 
how wonderful is the reward, which, by the new birth, you have merited 
to obtain. Inflame the coldness of his heart by the knowledge of the 
Holy Grhost, that by the abolition of the cold and pernicious worship of 
Paganism, the heat of Divine faith may enlighten his understanding, 
through your frequent exhortations; that the testimony of the Holy 
Scripture may appear the more conspicuous, fulfilled by you, < The unbe- 
lieving husband shall be saved by the believing wife V For to this effect 
you have obtained the mercy of our Lord's goodness, that you may return 
with increase the fruit of faith, and the benefit intrusted in your hands ; 
for through the assistance of His mercy, we do not cease, with frequent 
prayers, to beg that you may be able to perform the same. Having pre- 
mised thus much, in pursuance of the duty of our fatherly affection, we 
exhort you, that when the opportunity of a bearer shall offer, you will, as 
soon as possible, acquaint us with the success which the Divine power 
shall grant by your means, in the conversion of your consort, and of the 
nation subject to you ; to the end, that our solicitude, which earnestly 
expects what appertains to the salvation of you and yours, may, by hear- 
ing from you, be set at rest; and that we, discerning more fully the 
brightness of the Divine propitiation diffused in you, may, with a joyful 
confession, abundantly return due thanks to God, the giver of all good 
things, and to St. Peter, the prince of the apostles." 

This letter finishes with a trait of friendliness somewhat singular, and 
no doubt agreeable to the female receiver : " We have, moreover, sent you 
the blessing of your protector, St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, that 
is, a silver looking-glass, and a gilt ivory comb, which we entreat your 
glory will receive with the same kind affection, as it is known to be sent 
by us." 

The letter of Pope Boniface to Edwin was, in like manner, accom- 
panied by presents : these were, " a shirt with one gold ornament, and 
one garment of Ancyra, 1 named in the epistle. Edwin had, in the first 
instance hesitated to embrace the new doctrine, but the efforts of Ethel- 
burga were destined to be crowned with success. The King had promised 
her that he would examine the foundations on which the new faith rested, 
and that if he found them satisfactory he was willing to become a convert. 

1 Ancyra or Angora, a city of Galatia, spoken of by Pliny and Strabo, formerly 
the seat of the Gauls. It was there that the particular kind of cloth made of 
goats' wool was dyed, and underwent the process called camlet, which "gave it its 
water colour." 



236 ETHELBURGA. 

Accordingly, he held several conferences with Paulinus, canvassed the 
arguments he proposed with the wisest of his counsellors, retired frequently 
from company, to resolve in solitude that all-important question, and at 
length came to the desired conclusion. 

A year had passed in anxious deliberation on the truth, when, " attended 
by Paulinus, Edwin entered the great council, requested the advice of his 
faithful Witan, and exposed to them the reasons which induced him to 
prefer Christianity to the worship of paganism. Coiffi, the high priest 
of Northumbria, was the first to reply, whose faith was shaken by re- 
peated disappointments. He attempted to prove the futility of the pagan 
religion by his own misfortunes, and avowed his own resolution ' to listen 
to the reasons, and examine the doctrine of Paulinus/ He was followed 
by an aged thane, whose discourse offers an interesting picture of the 
simplicity of the age. ' When,' said he, '0 King, you and your ministers 
are seated at table, in the depth of winter, and the cheerful fire blazes on 
the hearth in the middle of the hall, a sparrow, perhaps chased by the 
wind and snow, enters at one door of the apartment and escapes by the 
other. During the moment of its passage it enjoys the warmth ; when 
it is once departed, it is seen no more. Such is the nature of man. 
During a few years his existence is visible ; but what has preceded or 
what will follow it, is concealed from the view of mortals. If the new 
religion offer any information on subjects so mysterious and important, it 
must be worthy of our attention.' To these reasons the other members 
assented. Paulinus was desired to explain the principal articles of the 
Christian faith; and the King expressed his determination to embrace 
the doctrine of the missionary. When it was asked, who would dare to 
profane the altars of Woden, Coiffi accepted the dangerous office. Laying 
aside the emblems of the priestly dignity, he assumed the dress of a 
warrior, and, despising the prohibitions of the Saxon superstition, mounted 
the favorite charger of Edwin. By those who were ignorant of his motives 
his conduct was attributed to temporary insanity. But disregarding their 
clamours, he proceeded to the nearest temple, and bidding defiance to the 
gods of. his fathers, hurled his spear into the sacred edifice. It stuck in 
the opposite wall; and, to the surprise of the trembling spectators, the 
heavens were silent, and the sacrilege was unpunished. Insensibly they 
recovered from their fears, and, encouraged by the exhortations of Coiffi, 
burnt to the ground the temple and the surrounding groves." 1 

Alcuin has celebrated the fame of Coiffi in his poem on the Church 
of York. 

The King, now changed in heart as well as doctrine desired to receive 
the rite of baptism, which was performed with much solemnity during 
the festival of Easter, at the Church of St. Peter, in York, Paulinus 
himself officiating. On this great occasion, which took place A. D. 627, 
many Northumbrians, both of the nobility and meaner classes, received 
the same rite. Of the number was Hilda, a young Saxon girl of royal 
birth, being great-niece of Edwin : then she was fourteen years of age 

1 Bede. 



ETHELBURGA. 237 

only, but she lived to become one of the most distinguished characters of 
her time. 

The simple church whose interior was the scene of this imposing spec- 
tacle, so new and interesting in a nation of unbelievers, at the time 
was constructed of wood, but was afterwards re-edified with stone by the 
King, who made it a cathedral, constituting Paulinus archbishop of the 
see. 

Crowds now began daily to flock to Paulinus to receive the baptismal 
rite, and it is on record of that venerable prelate that, being at one time 
staying with the King and Queen at Yeverin, in Northumberland, he was 
employed for six-and-thirty days, from morning till night, in instructing 
the throng that pressed forward to receive the new doctrine, whom he 
baptized in the river Glen. Churches and oratories were as yet unbuilt, 
and thus, as among the primitive Christians, rivers were brought into use 
by Paulinus, especially the Swale, as at the royal mansion in the neigh- 
borhood of that river Paulinus most commonly resided with the King. 1 
Edwin is also said to have dwelt at Auldby, about sis miles from the city 
of York. Christianity had now fairly dawned on Northumberland. 

The Roman altars and temples had been laid in the dust, and a gen- 
eral indifference to religion prevailed at the time when Saxon mythology 
was introduced ; and this was now supplanted by the pure doctrine of a 
revealed religion, which quickly spread, and with such good effect through- 
out the north, that it is said, a woman and her infant might have passed, 
without danger or damage, from sea to sea, 2 so rare had acts of injustice 
become. 

Having procured peace with the other Kings, his contemporaries, Edwin 
employed himself in progresses through his own territories, for the redress 
of the injured — enacting just laws for the public protection. He care- 
fully repaired the roads throughout Northumberland, making them safe 
and commodious ; and so minutely did the King regard the comfort of 
his people, that every spring by the way-side was provided with a bowl, 
for the refreshment of travellers. 3 

Thus, by his nobleness and intrepidity of character, Edwin became 
renowned as the greatest Prince of the Saxon Heptarchy. " His dignity," 
says Bede, " was so great throughout his dominions, that his banners 
were not only borne before him in battle, but even in time of peace : 
when he rode about his cities, towns, or provinces, with his officers, the 
standard-bearer was wont to go before him. Also, when he walked along 
the streets, that sort of banner which the Romans call Tufa, and the 
English Tuf, was, in like manner, borne before him." This was a globe, 
' or a tuft of feathers, fixed on a spear. 

It was unfortunate for Northumberland to lose so good a monarch m 
the zenith of greatness. After a reign of seventeen years' duration, 
Edwin, in the forty-eighth year of his age, perished in battle against 
Penda, King of Mercia, together with Osfred, his youngest son by Quen- 
burga : Eadfrid, the eldest-born, afterwards imploring the protection of 

1 Lives of the Saints a Howel. 3 Hutchinson. 



238 ETHELBURGA. 

Penda, who was his relative, was murdered by bim in violation of his 
oath. 1 

Edwin had four children by Ethelburga ; two of whom only survived 
him, Ulkfren and Enfleda. The claims of these children of Edwin were 
set aside in favour of Eanfrid and Osric, of wbom the former took pos- 
session of Northumberland, and the latter of Deira ; while the people, 
strange to say, after such an example, on losing their Christian King, 
reverted to a state of paganism. 

Ethelburga adopted the alternative which' alone remained for safety to 
herself and family. Taking with her, her children, and Uffi, the son of 
Osfred, who was now an orphan, she determined to seek the protection 
of Eadbald, King of Kent, her brother, who had married Emma, a 
French princess. Accordingly the Queen placed herself and family un- 
der the protection of Bassus, a faithful chieftain, and fled by sea into 
Kent, A. D. 627, where the royal fugitives were honourably received, first 
by Honorius, and afterwards by Eadbald himself; who bestowed on 
Paulinus, the faithful friend and adviser of his sister, who accompanied 
her on this occasion as in all others, the see of Rochester, in which he 
passed the remainder of his days; bequeathing to the church there, at 
bis death, the pall which he had received from the Roman Pontiff. 2 A 
great number of precious ornaments, which had belonged to King Edwin, 
were conveyed by Paulinus into Kent at the same time; among them 
were a large golden cross and a golden chalice, consecrated for the service 
of the altar, which were preserved in the Church of Canterbury. 3 

Ethelburga retained her daughter with her, but fearing her sons' safety 
insecure in this country, sent them together to the court of her relative, 
King Dagobert, in France, where they afterwards died. When she first 
arrived from Northumberland, Eadbald had presented her with some land 
in Kent, where the royal widow founded a nunnery, afterwards dedicated 
to the honour of the Virgin Mary and St. Mildred, one of the later 
abbesses. This was the first founded of the three celebrated Kentish mo- 
nasteries ; the second, at Folkstone, being built by Enswitha, daughter 
of Eadbald ; and the third, at Minster, in Thanet, by Queen Dompena, 
in A. D. 664. 4 Ethelburga's was founded in 633, 6 when the amiable 
Queen exhibited to the English people the novelty of a Christian widow 
taking the veil, — a step which, from her high example, afterwards became 
customary amongst the Queens of the Anglo-Saxons. 6 

From this time till her death Ethelburga devoted herself wholly to 
acts of charity; and when snatched from the world, she was interred in 
the nunnery of which she had been the foundress. That edifice, after- 
wards converted to a monastery at a later period, suffered much from the 
rapacity of the Danes, by whom it was rifled no less than three times in 
the space of thirty years, during the ninth century : it came at last to 

1 Lingard, Hume, Hutchinson. The remains of Edwin were interred at 
Streaneshalch, or Whitby, which became the repository of those of the different 
members of the Royal Family. — Hoioel. 

2 Mac Cabe. 3 Bede. 4 Phillipotts. 
' Smith's Notes on Bede. ' Hutchinson, Leland. 



ETHELBURGA. 239 

the see of Canterbury.' The memory of St. Edwin the Great was ho- 
noured till the time of Henry VIII. ; and a small church in London, 
near Newgate, some have conjectured was named after St. Ewen, or 
Andoeni. 2 

Oswy, and his brother Oswin, meantime had divided between them the 
Northumbrian monarchy, the former governing in Bernicia, the latter in 
Deira. 3 It is not certain whether Ethelburga was yet alive when an 
embassy arrived at the court of Eadbald from the former of these princes, 
demanding the hand of her daughter, the Princess Enfleda, in marriage. 
The account of this embassy is very interesting, and characteristic of the 
times. Oswy commissioned Utta, " a man of great gravity and sincerity/' 
who was much esteemed for his good qualities and truthfulness of cha- 
racter, to become his ambassador into Kent. Utta was commanded to 
travel by land to his destination, but to return home by sea ; on which 
account he addressed himself to Aidan, Bishop of the Church of Deira, 
during the reigns of Oswy and Oswin, beseeching his prayers for the 
prosperity of his voyage. Aidan blessed Utta and his companions, and 
commended them to the protection of Heaven, delivering to Utta, at the 
same time, some jars of hallowed oil, with these words : " I foresee that 
whilst you are at sea, a sudden tempest will come upon you; remember 
to cast into the troubled waters the oil that I give you, and speedily the 
tempest shall be assuaged, and the sea be calmed, and you shall have a 
prosperous voyage." All these things were fulfilled according to the 
prophecy. Enfleda and her train had to encounter a tempest on their 
way to Northumberland, the account of which is given by Bede, who had 
been told the story by one who had it from Utta's own mouth. 4 

Eadbald had, as we have seen, not only the honour of giving his sister 
Ethelburga in marriage to Edwin, but afterwards of bestowing her 
daughter Enfleda on Oswy. It is necessary to mention here the relation- 
ship which existed between King Oswy and the Princess of Kent. 
Edwin, father of Enfleda, was brother of Acha, wife of Ethelfred the 
Wild, and therefore uncle of her son Oswy. Thus, Enfleda and Oswy 
were first cousins ; at the time of her marriage, which took place A. D. 
642, the Princess was only in her sixteenth year, while Oswy was about 
thirty. She was fortunate in her match, for he was one of the most 
interesting princes of whom we read in the history of the Saxon 
Heptarchy. 

Treading in the footsteps of her illustrious mother and grandmother, 
Enfleda distinguished herself not only by the patronage she afforded to 
religious men, but by the religious edifices she founded. Not long after 
her arrival in Northumberland, Oswin, her husband's brother and partner 
in the government, was slain at Grilling, near Richmond, in Yorkshire; 
and the Queen built a monastery on the spot, which we learn was com- 
pleted before the year 659, the Abbot of which, Trumhere, was after- 
wards made Bishop of the Mercians. No trace of the edifice now re- 

1 Camden, Dugdale, Butler. 

1 It stood at the north-east corner of Warwick-lane. 

3 Holiushed. ' Hutchinson's Durham, Biog. Brit. 



240 ENFIEDA. 

mains, it having been entirely destroyed, a.d. 897, by the Danish chiefs, 
Hinguar and Hubba. 1 

Trumhere, who was the third bishop in Mercia, was an Englishman, 
and related to Queen Enfleda. He had been instructed and ordained in 
Scotland, and Oswy, at the solicitation of his Queen, had granted him 
the place where Oswin had been slain, on which he built the Abbey of 
Ingethlingum Gilling, of which he himself became Abbot; whether this 
was the same edifice raised under Enfleda's patronage, or one adjacent, 
does not appear. 2 

The Monastery at Tinemouth was likewise built by Enfleda, in com- 
memoration of St. Oswin, 3 whose shrine was there preserved. 

" Queen Enfled, that was King Oswy's wife. 
King Edwin, his daughter, full of goodnesse, 
For Oswyn's soule a minster, in her life, 
Made at Tynemouth, and for Oswy causeles 
That hym so bee slaine and killed helpeles ; 
For she was kin to Oswy and Oswyn, 
As Bede in chronicle dooeth determyn." — Harding. 

Enfleda bestowed her royal patronage on one who was destined to attain 
the greatest celebrity; this was Wilfrid, a Northumbrian, who, when 
very young, came to York, where Oswy held his court. On his arrival 
he was introduced to Queen Enfleda, who, seeing the youth, then only 
fourteen, was handsome, polite, and in every respect of a promising ap- 
pearance, offered him a situation at court. This was worth the accept- 
ance of Wilfrid, but he modestly declined the favour, telling the Queen 
that his disposition induced him to seek for retirement. On which En- 
fleda, pleased with that declaration, promised to use every means in her 
power to facilitate the execution of his design. She accordingly placed 
him under the care of a chief officer of the King's household, who was 
engaged to go to the Monastery of Lindisfarne, with the intention of 
entering that religious community. The isle of Lindisfarne, on the coast 
of Northumberland, was the episcopal seat of Aidan, an Irishman, and 
a Culdee of Iona, who had been sent for by Oswald, who bestowed it on 
him as an episcopal see, and in person attended his ministry. When 
Aidan preached, as he did not perfectly understand the Anglo-Saxon 
tongue, the King was interpreter ; for during his exile in Ireland he had 
learnt the language of that island. Aidan's preaching was recommended 
by his practice. Bede says : " He was a man of the greatest modesty, 
piety, and moderation ; having a zeal for God, but not fully according 
to knowledge, for he kept the Lord's Day of Easter according to the 
custom of his country." Under this famous prelate Wilfrid passed some 
years in study, and the exercise of Christian piety, at the end of which 
time his observation leading him to discern errors in the Church of the 
Scots, he resolved to visit Rome, for the purpose of learning the rites of 

1 Dugdale, Tanner. a Holinshed. 

3 The death of Oswin, with which Oswy appears to be chargeable, from the lines 
cited, is said to have taken place in 651. He is described as having been "tall 
and handsome in person, affable in manners, and courteous to rich and poor," 
which caused him to be "beloved by all." — Holinshed. 



EN FLED A. 241 

the Church in that city. Having obtained the consent of the brethren, 
and taken leave of the Abbot of Lindisfarne, Wilfrid repaired to his 
friend and patron, Queen Enfleda, and acquainted her with his design. 
The resolution of the youth pleased that royal lady, who accordingly sent 
him into Kent, where her cousin Ercorabert bad succeeded to the throne 
of Eadbald, and requested that King to send him to Rome in an honour- 
able manner. 

The request of Elfleda was attended to, and Wilfrid was accompanied 
on the occasion of his journey by another youth, Benedict, or Biscop, who 
also desired to visit the city of the apostles; this pair afterwards make a 
great show in Anglo-Saxon history. 1 

Enfleda had borne her husband a daughter, called Elfleda, who, when 
only a twelvemonth old, was dedicated, by a vow of King Oswy, to serve 
God in a state of perpetual virginity. On the occasion of the sanguinary 
battle of Winwidfield, near Leeds, Oswy vowed, prior to the engagement, 
that if God would grant him the victory, he would not only so consecrate 
his infant child to His service, but would also build a monastery to His 
honour. The day was gained by Oswy ; King Penda, his enemy, with 
many nobles, fell on the field, and the vow was duly performed. 2 To 
signalize his gratitude, Oswy commenced, in the year 657, building the 
famous double monastery of Whitby, then called Streaneshalch from a 
watch-tower or light-house which stood on the cliff on the eastern side of 
the harbour; it was situate on a bold and precipitous shore. The monas- 
tery was designed for monks and nuns of the Benedictine order, though 
Malmesbury says it was for women only, and the King invited the cele- 
brated St. Hilda to undertake the government of the double community. 3 
This royal lady the sister of Hereswide, Queen of the East Angles, who 
was noted for her exceeding piety and great goodness, had been invited 
by St. Aidan to come over from France, on the death of her sister, and 
had settled in a small nunnery on the river Were ; she remained there 
one year, at the end of which she was made Abbess of the numerous 
society congregated in the Monastery of Hartlepool. From this place, 
at the end of several years, she was called, by the message of King Oswy, 
to superintend the Monastery of Whitby. This religious foundation, 
which was built by Oswy, and dedicated to St. Peter, always bore the 
name of its first Abbess, so great was the veneration in which St. Hilda 
was held by the people there. 

The princess Elfleda, agreeably to her father's vow, had been professed 
a nun in the monastery where Hilda at that time resided ; but on the 
holy Abbess removing to Streaneshalch, went thither also, and first 
becoming a novice, ruled afterwards over the establishment. 4 

Caedmon, the great poet of the Anglo-Saxons, owed his first patronage 
to the Abbess Hilda, and the earliest specimens of literature of that era 
were produced in the Abbey of Whitby. Bede says : " There was in this 
house a brother, who, when he heard verses out of Scripture, would, with 
much sweetness and humility, turn them into English poetry." The 

1 Lives of the Saints, Bede. a Holinshed, Allen's History of York. 

3 Allen, Butler. 4 Holinshed, William of Malmesbury. 

21 Q 



242 ENFLEDA. 

books of the convent were in the Latin tongue, used also in the greater 
part of the service; but Csednion rendered the Scriptural subject into 
the vernacular tongue. This man was only a neat-herd, and he dreamt 
that a stranger came to him and bade him compose a song. He replied, 
" I cannot;" but the command was repeated, and a subject, a the creation 
of all things/' given. The wondering cow-herd awoke at dawn of day, 
and proceeded to the steward of the household of the Abbess Hilda, to 
relate this wonderful dream, and the verses he had in his sleep composed. 
This person conducted him to the presence of the venerable Abbess, who 
was surrounded by scholars and learned men ; he was ordered to repeat 
his verses. He did so, to the delight of his attentive audience. His 
powers of poesy were found to be no dream, but a waking reality ; and 
Hilda earnestly encouraged him to continue to compose his poems in his 
native Saxon tongue, to assist him in which efforts she transferred the 
peasant to the school of her convent, and diligently and unremittingly 
superintended his education. This was no mean alteration in the fortunes 
of Csedmon, for the school of Hilda was the nursery of the great men of 
her times. Six of her scholars subsequently were elevated to the epis- 
copal chair : Bosa, John of Beverley, and the second Wilfrid, filled 
successively the See of York; Hedda became Bishop of Wessex, and 
Tatfrith and Ostforus Bishops of Worcester. 1 

At the time that Hilda was Abbess of Whitby, 2 a famous synod was 
held there, to fix the time for the celebration of Easter ; great differences 
having previously existed in the British Church on the subject of Easter, 
which was kept by the British after the manner of the Eastern Church, 
on the fourteenth day after the full moon, on whatever day of the week 
it happened, and not on Sunday, as we at this day observe it. 3 

The following interesting account of this memorable council is extracted 
from the late Dr. Lingard's invaluable work on the Anglo-Saxon Church : — 

" Oswy and his people followed the Scotch missionaries, but Queen 
Enfleda, who had been educated in Kent, and Oswy's son Alchfred, who 
attended the lessons of St. Wilfrid, adhered to the practice of the Romish 
Church. Thus, Oswy saw his own family divided into opposite factions, 
and the same solemnities celebrated at different times within his own 
residence. Desirous to procure uniformity, he summoned the champions 
of each party to meet him at Whitby, and to argue the merits of their re- 
spective customs in his presence, A. D. 664. On the one side stood Agil- 
bercht, a Gallic prelate, at that time Bishop of Winchester, who chanced 
to be on a visit to the King ; with Romanus, the chaplain of Queen Ean- 
fled; Wilfrid, the chaplain of Prince Alchfred; and Jacob, a deacon, 
who had remained in Northumbria ever since the flight of Paulinus. On 
the other, were ranged Colman, the Bishop of Lindisfarne; Cedd, who 
had been ordained by the Scots Bishop of the East Saxons ; the Abbess 
Hilda, and the Scottish clergy. Both Agilbercht and Colman, as foreign- 
ers, were but imperfectly acquainted with the vernacular language. Agil- 

1 Bede. a Allen's York. 

3 The best account of the Easter controversy will be found in Dr. Smith's Ap- 
pendix to Bede's Ecclesiastical History, No. 9. 



ENFLEDA. 243 

bercht, therefore, placed the defence of his cause in the hands of Wilfrid ; 
but Colman would not accept the services of a substitute, and Cedd was 
appointed his interpreter, — an office which he discharged to the satisfac- 
tion of all parties. 

" The King, after a short preface on the benefit of uniformity, called 
upon Colman to begin. He alleged, in defence of the Scottish custom, 
first, the example of St. John the Evangelist, who was said, in books, to 
have kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the lunar month ; second, on 
the Paschal canons of Anatolius, which ordered it to be kept on the same 
day ; and on the practice of Columba, and his successors in the isle of 
Iona, by whom he (Colman) had been educated, and appointed Bishop of 
Northumbria. Wilfrid, in answer, said, that Colman was in error with 
respect to St. John, who, at a time when condescension was requisite, kept 
the Pasch at the same time with the Jews, on the fourteenth day, whether 
it were a Sunday or not ; whereas, the Scots kept it only on that day, 
when it happened to fall on a Sunday ; neither could he appeal to the 
Paschal canons of Anatolius, for Anatolius followed a cycle of nineteen 
years, which the Scots did not; a manner of reckoning, by which he 
never kept the Pasch till the fourteenth day was begun ; whereas the 
Scots often kept it before the thirteenth day was ended. With respect 
to the practice of the Abbots of Iona, an obscure isle in the Scottish sea, 
their authority ought not to prevail against that of the universal Church, 
and the decree of the great Council of Nice. 

" Colman rejoined that these abbots were holy men, who could not be 
supposed to have done wrong; to which Wilfrid replied, that, cut off as 
they were, by their situation, from the rest of the world, they might be 
excused under the plea of ignorance ; but that, if Colman and his clergy, 
now that they knew the decrees of the Apostolic See, or rather of the uni- 
versal Church, refused to conform, they would undoubtedly sin. Columba 
might have been a great man, but Peter was a greater, on whom our 
Lord had built his Church, and to whom he had given the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven. At these words Oswin, who had hitherto been silent, 
exclaimed, ' Colman, is it so ?' Receiving an answer in the affirmative, 
he resumed with a smile, < Who then is the greater in heaven, Columba 
or Peter?' All replied, 'Peter.' 'Then,' said the King, 'will I obey 
the decrees of Peter; for if he, who has the keys, shut me out, who is 
there to let me in?' The bystanders applauded the witticism; and the 
conference broke up. The result was, that Hilda and Cedd, and several 
of the Scottish clergy, passed over to the party of Wilfrid; and Colman, 
after a short interval, taking with him his own adherents, and about 
thirty natives, returned to his parent monastery in the Isle of Iona. 1 

" The conference at Whitby established harmony in the Anglo-Saxon 
Church, but the Picts, Scots, and Britons, maintained their opinion for 
many years after. In 701, Adamnan, Abbot of Iona, who had adopted 

1 Colman, a monk of Iona, and successor of Finan as Bishop of Lindisfarne. 
disliking Oswin's decision against the British mode of keeping Easter, threw up his 
bishopric, and returned to Ireland, where he built two monasteries. He wrote a 
book in defence of his own opinion relative to the keeping Easter, another on the 
ecclesiastical tonsure, and an exhortation to the inhabitants of the Hebrides. 



244 ENFLEDA. 

the Roman method during his visit to the court of Alfred of Northum- 
berland, reclaimed the northern tribes. In 710, Naitan, King of the 
Picts, after consulting Ceolfred, Bishop of "VVearmouth, ordered the Ro- 
man computation to be followed throughout his dominions; but it was 
not till 715 that the monks of Iona, whom Adamnan could not convert, 
yielded the point to the arguments of Egbert, an Anglo-Saxon missionary. 
Elfod, Bishop of Bangor, established the Catholic computation of Easter, 
in North Wales, in the middle of the eighth century, and still later, in 
777, in South Wales, from which time no more controversies have arisen 
on that subject." ' 

This celebrated council derives no small interest from the fact of its 
having united, in a view to obtain an insight into the truth, so many of 
the most celebrated individuals of that age. 

Oswy died A. D. 670, his reign having lasted twenty-eight years, and 
was interred in Streaneshalch monastery, with truly regal solemnity. 
The widowed Queen, retiring to that place, which contained the last re- 
mains of her beloved husband, assumed the religious habit, having deter- 
mined, like her mother, Queen Ethelburga, to pass the remainder of her 
life in the exercises of religion. The next ten years from that time, the 
royal mother and daughter resided together among the holy sisterhood, 
over which St. Hilda presided. In 680, that pious Abbess departed this 
life in her sixty-sixth year, after having passed through a long and try- 
ing illness, when the Princess Elfleda was elevated to the situation left 
vacant by her loss, the Queen continuing still to reside with her daughter. 

As late as 1776, it was an opinion entertained there, that Hilda 
rendered herself at times visible, on particular occasions, in the Abbey of 
Streaneshalch, or Whitby, where she so long presided. At a particular 
time of the year, in the summer months, at ten or eleven in the forenoon, 
the sunbeams fall in the inside of the northern part of the choir ; and it 
is then that the spectators, who stand on the west side of Whitby church- 
yard, so as to see the most northerly part of the abbey, past the north 
of Whitby Church, imagine they perceive in one of the highest windows 
there, the resemblance of a woman arrayed in a shroud. Though we are 
certain this is only a reflection, caused by the splendour of the sun's 
beam, yet report says, and it is constantly believed among the vulgar, to 
be an appearance of Lady Hilda, in her shroud, or rather in her glorified 
state. 2 

The Abbess Elfleda, was highly esteemed by St. Theodore of Canter- 
bury, and by St. Cuthbert, from whom she received frequent visits; and 
on such occasions, it was her custom to entertain her visitors at her own 
table : this appears from an account given by the venerable Bede. Other 
authorities inform us, that the Abbess would often go abroad to make 
her own visits, and mingle with her own relatives. The brothers of El- 

1 Lingard ; Antiquity of Anglo-Saxon Church. 

2 There is a tradition concerning the snake-stones which abound at Whitby, 
that the place was formerly infested by snakes, which, being driven over the cliff 
by Lady Hilda, lost their heads in the fall, and by her prayers were afterwards 
transformed into stones. — Allen's York. 



ENFLEDA. 245 

fleda received her visits and sought her counsels. King Alfred, the 
youngest of these princes, was watched over by her on his death-bed ; and 
afterwards we find the excellent Abbess striving to reconcile Archbishop 
Wilfrid and the party which was opposed to him. Elfleda was, indeed 
highly esteemed by the great men of her times, and Theodore, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, in a letter addressed to her, designates her " the 
wisest lady." Eddius, in his Life of Wilfrid, says, " that by her wise 
counsels, Elfleda was ever the best adviser and comforter of the whole 
province ; and she did much service during the minority of Osred, her 
nephew, by her exertions for the promotion of peace." 

Under the care of Elfleda, many missionaries and scholars were sent 
forth from the establishment. 

The 51st Letter in the Collection of St. Boniface, is addressed to an 
abbess abroad, named Adolana, by " Elfled, handmaiden of the ecclesias- 
tical household," who commends to her care another abbess, her own 
pupil, who from infancy had desired to visit Rome, and requests her to 
give such information as might be useful respecting the journey thither. 
The letter had apparently been consigned to the care of Boniface, on one 
of his journeys to the imperial city. 

Queen Enfleda, on her death, was interred at Streaneshalch, in the 
Church of St. Peter, where rested the remains of Kings Edwin and 
Oswy, and many other distinguished persons of those times. Elfleda 
died at the age of forty, and was likewise interred in that edifice. The 
revenues of Streaneshalch had been greatly augmented by the royal 
daughter of Oswy and Enfleda, and the monastery continued to flourish 
till the year 867, when that part of England was laid waste by the Danes, 
and it was altogether annihilated, " so that the very name was lost in its 
ruins, and the place remained desolate till near the time of the Norman 
Conquest, when a few huts beiDg erected in the place where the town 
had formerly stood, it took the name of Presteby, 1 because it was in the 
neighbourhood of the ancient residence for monks, and after that was 
called Whiteby or Whitby, 2 a word signifying " the white dwelling" or 
" town." 

1 Allen's Hist, of York. 

2 This famous monastery is familiar to the lovers of romantic lore, as the scene 
of part of Sir Walter Scott's beautiful poem of Marmion, the allusions in which, 
relating to this celebrated pile and its rulers, and the learned notes attached, may 
satisfy even the most severe antiquary; few could be more instructed in the 
mystery of the craft than the poet, who has rendered interesting and classical 
every spot named in his writings. 



21* 



ST. EBBA, QUENBURGA, SURNAMED "BEBBA," AND 
SAXBURGA. 

The child Ebba's adventures — She enters a convent — Marries Cwichelme — Seeks 
the court of her brother Oswald — Her influence — Quenburga — Birinus — 
Kynigils — Saxburga repudiated — Penda's vengeance — Bebba and Bebban- 
burgh — Bamborough Castle — Oswald and Aidan — The silver dishes — Oswald's 
charity — The blessing — The Hermit's adventure — Oswald slain — The limbs 
of Oswald — Ostrida his niece — Ebba the Saint — The double Monastery — 
Saxburga and her husband reconciled — Conversions — The Plague — The 
Queen Regnant. 

The lives of these Queens are intimately connected; their names 
being repeated together in the history of their times; but though the 
events in which they bore a share were of importance, their individual 
history does not occupy a very large space. 

Ebba, whose piety earned for her the honours of canonization, was tbe 
only one of the children of Queen Acha who was not the companion of 
her flight, after the battle in which her husband Ethelfrid the Wild lost 
his crown and life, Ebba, then quite a child, fell into the hands of the 
conquerors as prisoner ; but by her quickness and intelligence contrived 
to elude the vigilance of her guards, and, flying from pursuit, came to 
the banks of the Humber, where, finding a boat, she is said to have put 
to sea alone, and, unaided by any human being, safely arrived at that 
point of land or promontory which stretches into the sea in the mouth 
of the Forth, and from the circumstance bore, and still bears, her name, 
being called St. Ebba's Head. The bishop of the diocese received the 
little wanderer, who assumed the religious habit, following the profession 
of a nun for many years, and setting an example of superior sanctity to 
the whole of her sisterhood. 

In process of time she quitted her convent to become the wife of 
Cwichelme, King of Wessex, whose power was shared by Kynigils. 
Cwichelme was that King of Wessex, who sent an assassin to rid him 
of his enemy, Edwin of Northumberland, whose loyal subject, Lilla, 
devoted his life to save him. 

Of the married life of Ebba, little is known, but on becoming a widow, 
she sought the court of her brother Oswald, who had succeeded to the 
throne of Northumberland; and there she had an opportunity of exer- 
cising her pious powers, for her brother greatly venerated her character, 
and was much guided by her counsels. He had married Quenburga, 
daughter of Kynigils, a wife worthy of so excellent a monarch ; and it 
was while he was in Wessex, soliciting her hand, that he had the glory 

(246) 



ST. E B B A . 247 

of assisting Birinus, the missionary, in his task of converting the King, 
to whom he became sponsor on his baptism, and many of his subjects, to 
Christianity. 

The two Kings, in commemoration of the occasion, afterwards erected 
Dorchester l into an episcopal see, of which Birinus was made Bishop. 
Oswald was united to Quenburga, and thus became both father and son to the 
converted monarch. Cwichelme, and his son by Ebba, were also baptized 
at the same time, Birinus being sponsor to the King, whose death oc- 
curred soon after his conversion. 

Kynigils afterwards founded Winchester Cathedral, under the direc- 
tion of the pious and successful missionary. 

Although Kynigils and his brother Cwichelme had become Christians, 
Cemvalch, son of the former, yet remained an adherent of the Saxon idol- 
atry, nor could any persuasions influence him to become a convert. This 
prince, during his father's life, became the husband of Saxburga, daugh- 
ter of Wibba, King of Mercia, and grand-daughter of Crida, founder 
of that monarchy, — a princess, who, by her great spirit, talents, and 
courage, afterwards occupied an important and distinguished position in 
the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Nor was this the first matrimonial tie which 
had united the thrones of Wessex and Mercia. The reigning King 
of Mercia, the fierce and warlike Penda, who had bestowed Saxburga on 
Cenwalch, was only half-brother of that lady, although a son of Wibba. 2 
His mother was a Princess of Wessex, a descendant of the noble race 
of the Gewissaaej 3 and had, besides, a daughter who married Cadwallo, 
King of the Britons. 4 On the other hand, that Saxburga, and her brothers 
Kenwald, Eoppa, and Eawa, were the children of a different wife, is not 
generally known. 

Saxburga was destined to experience the strangest vicissitudes of for- 
tune ; on the death of the Christian King, Kynigils, her father-in-law, 
A. D. 6-43, her husband being elevated to the throne, dismissed her from 
his court with ignominy, and gave her rank to a princess whom he 
"more favoured." 5 Historians universally admit that no just cause 
existed why such a step should have been taken by Cenwalch. 6 This 
took place in the year 642, but the perpetrator of such an act of injus- 
tice was condemned to undergo a severe punishment. It was not likely 
that Penda, the most warlike of the Mercian Kings, would permit so 
deep an insult to be offered to a member of his family without retribu- 
bution. To avenge his half-sister Saxburga, he therefore made war on 
Cenwalch, and succeeded in expelling that King from his dominions 
about the third or fifth year of his reign. 7 The fugitive prince was re- 
ceived at the court of Anna, King of East Anglia, where, for some time, 
he remained in security ; but what became of Saxburga at this epoch of 
her history we are not informed. 

Quenburga, sister of Cenwalch, now Queen of Northumberland, the 

1 In Oxfordshire, formerly a city, but now a village. It first belonged to the 
West Saxons, and afterwards to the Mercians. 

s Palgrave, Holinshed. s Geoffrey of Monmouth. 4 Speed. 

» Lingard. 6 Speed. ' Holinshed, Palgrave, Roger of Wendover. 



248 QUENBURGA. 

year following her marriage, presented her husband with a son, whom he 
named Fthelwold. The Queen herself had, after leaving her father's 
court, assumed the surname of "Bebba," which was commonly adopted 
by the consorts of the Northumbrian monarchs in commemoration of the 
wife of Ida the Firebrand, founder of that monarchy, in whose honour 
that prince had founded the city which, in modern times, is known as 
Bamborough. 1 Ida had originally sailed from the shores of the Baltic, 
with his consort Bebba and twelve sons, at the head of a body of Angles, 
in a fleet of forty vessels, and was received at Flamborough Head with 
joy by some of his own countrymen, with whose aid he subjugated North- 
umberland, Durham, and some of the south-eastern counties of Scotland, 
founding, in the year 559, a distinct and independent monarchy. 2 

Though some have said that the chief town of the Kingdom of North- 
umberland, which gave its name of Bebbanburg to a large district or 
tract of land, extending southward, was named after Oswald's queen, 
there is no doubt that it was first called " Bebban " from the queen of 
Ida. It is certain that Quenburga was called " Bebba " after her union 
with Oswald ; she is thus named by the poet Harding in his Chronicle : — ■ 

"King Oswold wedded Beblam his wife to bee, 
Kynge Kyngilles doughter full faire to see." 

Oswald and his Queen resided at the royal city of Bebbanburgh, of 
which the following account has been given by the chaplain of Henry II., 
in 1192 : — "Bebba is a very strong city, but not exceeding large; con- 
taining not more than two or three acres of ground. It has but one 
hollow entrance into it, which is admirably raised by steps. On the top 
of the hill stands a fair church, and in the western point is a well, 
curiously adorned, and of sweet, clean water." 3 

More modern historians thus describe this interesting spot: — 

" Bamburgh Castle, in the origin, was one of the castella built by 
Agricola on his third campaign ; the Roman wall is close to the verge of 
the hill on which this celebrated fortress is situated. For providing the 
garrison with a supply of water, which the besiegers could not cut off, 
there was in most castles a well, which was sometimes curiously con- 
cealed within the thickness of the walls. There are draw-wells in the 
Castles of Dover, Canterbury, Rochester, Colchester, Carisbrook, &c. In 
the old Norman town of Newcastle, the well is very curiously concealed 
within the wall. The great well of Bamburgh had long been forgotten, 
when, in December, 1770, it was accidentally discovered in lowering the 
floor." 

The great draw-well of Bamburgh Castle is described as " a dark and 
rugged shaft excavated within the keep, through the rock of stone, to the 
amazing depth of a hundred and fifty feet," and as being "equalled only 
by the draw-well of Beeston Castle : this stupendous work is ascribed to 
the Norman Lords of Bamborough." 

" The Saxon Castle of Bamburg having been destroyed, A. D. 993, it 
is probable that the church shared the same fate, and remained in ruin 
through the chief part, if not the whole, of the dark and troubled cen- 

1 Bede. 2 Turner. 3 Simeon of Durham. 



QUENBURGA. 249 

tury which succeeded. Neither the church nor the castle is mentioned 
again till the reign of William Rufus; but before that period the castle, 
at all events, had been rebuilt; and under the early Anglo-Norman 
kings, the vill of Bamborough rose into existence. The castle was ac- 
cessible only by an acclivity winding under the south-east front, through 
an ancient tower; and formerly it was defended also by a ditch cut 
through a narrow isthmus communicating with the mainland. Within 
the first bailey, there is another ancient gateway ; and beyond, proceeding 
between walls, partly of artificial masonry, and partly formed by the pre- 
cipitous cliff, we pass below a massive Norman round-tower which com- 
manded the critical pass. The inner bailey, in which the keep is situ- 
ated, is a level space of great area, surrounded by various buildings, now 
no longer devoted to military occupations, but appropriated to ministries 
of charity and peace. The space covered by the walls of the castle 
measures eight acres ; and not less than fifty-six acres of rock, warren, 
and sand-hills are included within its domain." l 

The youth of Oswald had been passed in exile in Ireland, and when 
Aidan, the Culdee, arrived to instruct his subjects in the Christian faith, 
the King appointed him to a see in the island of Lindisfarne, which may 
be seen seven miles to the north of Bamborough ; the Fern isles being 
opposite the royal residence of Oswald, and the cliffs of Dunstanburg 
rising to the south. 

The preaching of Aidan was so successful, that in seven days, no less 
than fifteen thousand persons received the baptismal rite. 

King Oswald was the first prince of our Saxon rulers, who is recorded 
to have been served in silver dishes. 

" When he was once sitting at dinner on the holy day of Easter, with 
the aforesaid bishop (Aidan), and a silver dish full of dainties before 
him, and they were just ready to bless the bread, the servant, whom he 
had appointed to relieve the poor, came in on a sudden, and told the 
King, that a great multitude of needy persons from all parts were sitting 
in the streets begging some alms of the King; he immediately ordered 
the meat set before him to be carried to the poor, and the dish to be cut 
in pieces and divided among them. At which sight the bishop, who sat 
by him, much taken with such an act of piety, laid hold of his right 
hand, and said, 'May this hand never perish !' Which fell out according 
to his prayer, for his arm and hand being cut off from his body, when he 
was slain in battle, remain entire and uncorrupted to this day, and are 
kept in a silver case, as revered relics, in St. Peter's Church in the royal 
city." 

The Northumbrians might well obey such a ruler with love. The fol- 
lowing distich is on record of Oswald : — 

"Quis fuit Alcides? Quis Caesar Julius ? Aut quis 
Magnus Alexander? Alcvdes se superasse 
Fertur ; Alexander mundum, sed Julius hostem, 
Se simul Oswaldus, et mundum vicit, et hostem." 3 

Queen Bebba was herself as much celebrated by her admirable con- 

1 Gibson. a Camden. 



250 QUENBURGA. 

duct, as the saintly King, her husband, for his holiness of life. Of this, 
the following instance has been transmitted by one of our chroniclers : — 

a A hermit, of extraordinary sanctity, desirous of ascertaining whether 
any other person surpassed himself in purity of life, was, in answer to his 
meditations, told by revelation, " that King Oswald was more holy, though 
he had wedded a wife." To the King accordingly the pious hermit 
repaired, desiring, with holy zeal, to be informed concerning his "course 
of life." On which Oswald, in the true spirit of that love and confidence 
which reposed on the purity and virtue of his beloved partner, referred 
the hermit to her, bidding him carry to her his ring with his commands, 
" that she should entertain him as though he were her own royal spouse." 
Queen Bebba failed not in strictly obeying her lord's mandate ; but, while 
she sharod with the holy man the regal repast, she showed him that it 
consisted only of bread and water, no other food being permitted to him, 
thus exhibiting an example of that self-denial by which purity of life is 
alone attainable. When night came, the hermit, expecting to pass it as 
Oswald himself was in the habit of doing, was more surprised than pleased 
when the Queen caused him to be cast into a cold water bath ; according to 
the habit of the prince he wished to imitate ! 

"Gladly, and right early on the morrow, did the venerable man take 
leave of the Queen, and, having restored to King Oswald his ring, frankly 
acknowledged that his own entire life was not so holy as one of his days 
and nights." ' 

No further mention of Queen Bebba is made till after Oswald's death. 
The title of Bretwalda, 2 or Emperor, was accorded to this King in the 
year of his son Edilwold's birth ; peace and plenty were the character- 
istics of his reign. At last Penda, King of Mercia, envying his neigh- 
bouring potentate's prosperity, took up arms against him. The two kings 
fought at Maserfield, in Shropshire, August 5th, 642, and Oswald fell in 
the engagement. The spot where the monarch was slain was called from 
the circumstance, Oswald's tree, abbreviated into Oswestry. 3 The cruel 
victor caused the body of the prince to be cut into pieces, which, being 
stuck on stakes, were dispersed over the battle-field as so many victorious 
trophies. Some old verses say that it was the head and hands only of the 
unfortunate prince that were thus exposed ; the translation is as follows : 

" Three crosses raised at Penda's dire commands, 
Bore Oswald's royal head and mangled hands, 
To stand a sad example to the rest, 
And prove him wretched who is ever blest. 
Vain policy ! for what the victor got 
Proved to the vanquish'd king the happier lot; 
For now the martyr' d saint in glory views 
How Oswy with success the war renews : 
And Penda scarcely can support his throne, 
Whilst Oswald wears a never-failing crown." 4 

The Church, to which Oswald was justly dear, rendered every posthu- 

1 Harding's Chronicle. 

a An imitation of the dignity of Emperors of the West.— Lappenberg. 

3 Pennant's Wales. " Ibid. 



QUENBURGA. 



251 



mous honour to his memory, and not only was he raised to the dignity 
of a saint, but his claim to the honour was supported by various miracles. 1 

The widowed Queen Bebba had used the interest of her brother-in-law 
Oswy, the now reigning monarch, to obtain from Cadwealla permission to 
bury the head and arm of Oswald. 

Hardinge in his quaint chronicle has these lines : 

"King Oswy to Cadwall did enclyne, 
And Oswald his lied and arme had leue to burye, 
Which he betoke to Queen Bebla in hye, 
Who closed them in silver fayre and ciene, 
And them betooke to Saynte Aydan, I ween." 

The venerable Bede records the same. " Oswald's head and arm were 
conveyed by King Oswy to the sorrow-stricken Queen, who religiously 
enshrined the precious relics in a silver case and conveyed them to St. 
Aidan, by whom they were carefully deposited in St. Peter's Church, in 
the royal city of Bebbanburgh." 

Of Bebba we learn no more. Her infant son was deprived of his 
inheritance for a time by the usurpation of Oswy : at the death of that 
king he mounted the throne, being but sixteen years of age at the time, 
and preserved his power during the remainder of his life, transmitting it 
when he died, to Alfred, the natural son of Oswy. 

1 An engraving in Strutt's Regal Antiquities, represents the King setting out 
with his army against the Mercian monarch, and, in another plate, gives a deli- 
neation of the battle, with Oswald falling from his horse, wounded by the Mer- 
cian king. These drawings are taken from a MS. (Harleian, 1981) preserved in 
the Royal Library at the British Museum ; which, by the writing and dress of 
the figures, appears to have been written and illuminated at the commencement 
of the fourteenth century. They are contained in a psalter at the bottom of the 
leaves. The MS. was presented to Queen Mary, in 1553, by Baldwin Smith, a 
citizen of London. 

The town (which is near Severus's Wall) taking the name of Oswald's Tree, 
from the cross or tree the King had erected there. The MS. account of the town, 
written in 1635, has the following: — "There was an old oake lately standing in 
Mesburie, within the parish of Oswestry, whereon one of King Oswald's arms 
hung, say the neighbours by tradition." 

Oswald's Well is situated a little to the west of the free-school of Oswestry, and 
is supplied by a spring flowing from the elevated ground above it. The well is a 
small square basin, in a recess formed by a stone wall, and arched over. On the 
back is a rudely sculptured head of King Oswald, and the front was secured by 
an iron grate. A second recess of the same kind is divided from the former by 
a slight stone wall, and in this recess there is water also, which was perhaps 
granted for common uses, whilst the other may have been held sacred. There 
was formerly a chapel or cell near it, but no vestige of either remains ; and the 
well itself is in a very ruinous state, but the water is good. There is a tradition 
that when Oswald was slain, an eagle tore one of the arms from the body, and 
flying off with it, fell down and perished upon this spot, from whence the water 
gushed up, and has continued to flow ever since, as a memorial of the event. The 
title of "Baron of Oswaldistre" is now held by the Duke of Norfolk. — History 
of Oswestry. 

A monastery was founded on the place of Oswald's martyrdom, dedicated to the 
memory of that sainted king, but no evidences either of its foundation or disso- 
lution exist. Leland, in his time, names the cloister as having been standing 
within the recollection of persons then alive. 



252 QUENBURGA. 

The remains of St. Oswald being afterwards found by his niece Ostrida, 
Queen of the Mercians, were solemnly enshrined in the Abbey of Bard- 
ney, in Lincolnshire, and the King's banner hung over his tomb at her 
cost, and worked by herself. 1 At a, subsequent period, the relics of 
departed royalty were removed by Ethelfleda, Queen of the Mercians, to 
the Abbey of St. Peter at Gloucester, where they were deposited on the 
north side of the upper end of the choir. In that cathedral a fair mon- 
ument of the murdered prince is still remaining, with a chapel set 
between two pillars of that church. 2 

Bishop Aiclan, 3 the friend and counsellor of the ill-fated Oswald, sur- 
vived his royal master nine years. In 651, when Penda, at the head of 
the Mercian army, ravaged Northumberland, he came to Bamborough, 
and sought, but in vain, to take that royal city by force. He afterwards 
encompassed it on the land side with wood and thatch, which he caused 
to be set on fire, and the flames soon rose above the walls of the citadel. 
Aidan was at this time on the Farn Island, two miles from the mainland ; 
and seeing the danger of the garrison, invoked the Divine aid against the 
machinations of the enemy ; on which, according to Bede, " the wind 
suddenly changed and bore the flames upon the camp of the besiegers," 
who were thus compelled to desist from further assault. Aidan was in 
the King's Vill, not far from Bamborough, when he was visited with his 
last illness : for he was in the habit of resorting to a church in the vil- 
lage of Bamborough, where a little chamber had been erected for him on 
the western wall of the edifice, that he might conveniently reside there 
when he made excursions into the adjacent country. The Bishop had 
other similar accommodations provided for him in several of the King's 
country-seats, having no place of his own but his church, and a few fields 
about it. In his sickness they set up a tent for him, adjoining the west 
side of the church of Bamborough, and there he died. 

Ebba, sister of Oswald, who was aunt as well as sister-in-law of Quen- 
burga "Bebba," after she had returned into Northumberland, founded 
successively several nunneries, and became noted for her sanctity. 

The nunnery upon the Derwent, in Durham, was founded by this wid- 
owed Queen of Wessex, and, from her name, called Ebchester. It was 
built, A. D. 660, and Oswy, brother of Oswald, assisted in this pious 
work, perhaps as some atonement for usurping his nephew's place. The 
small, irregular village of Ebchester is described by Camden as "occu- 
pying the brow of a steep declivity overhanging the Tyne." 

St. Ebba, in her widowhood, resumed the religious habit which she 
had worn when a child, and retired to the same establishment in which 
she passed her early years. She was foundress of the celebrated monas- 
tery of Coldingham in the Marshes, below Berwick, in Scotland, which 

1 Willis's Abbeys. 

2 " Oswy afterwards took the head of Oswald from Bardney, and interred it in 
the church of Lindisfai-ne : it attended the faithful monks of that place in prosperity 
and adversity, till at length it found 'a safe resting-place in the bosom of St. Cuth- 
bert/ where it remained until the outrages of Lee, and other malefactors of evil 
memory." — Gibbon, Harding, Speed. 

3 Brit. Sancta. 



SAXBURGA. 253 

establishment she governed herself as Abbess until her death, which did 
not take place till she had arrived at a very advanced age. This cele- 
brated double separate monastery was visited by the famed St. Cuthbert, 
by invitation of the Abbess Queen, who was desirous that her people 
there should be edified by the instructions of that holy man, — a request 
most readily complied with. 

The history of St. Ebba is much connected with the public events in 
her time, proving the influence she maintained by her own excellent 
conduct. 

At one period this Queen presided over Camwode Abbey, during the 
reign of her nephew Egfrid. St. Etheldreda, then Queen, having 
obtained her husband's permission to take the religious vows, professed 
herself a nun in Camwode Abbey, " the convent of Ebba, the King's 
aunt," receiving the veil from the hands of Bishop Wilfrid. 1 Ethel- 
dreda remained in the establishment, under the protection of St. Ebba, 
till her flight to Ely. 

Again St. Ebba's name comes prominently forward ; for Egfrid had 
imprisoned Wilfrid on his return from Rome ; and during the space of 
nine months every art had been practised to induce the bishop to confess 
that the Pontiff's decision had either been a fabrication, or purchased by 
presents. Threats and promises, however, failed in moving Wilfrid, who 
was at length happily liberated, at the earnest prayers of the Abbess 
Ebba, on his subscribing to a condition that he would never more set 
foot within the territories of Egfrid. 2 

After the completion of Coldingham, St. Ebba assumed the govern- 
ment of the establishment, and presided over it till her death, which 
took place A. D. G83, having survived her husband as many as forty-five 
years. At some period, it is said that " St. Cuthbert informed Elfrid, a 
priest, by revelation, where the bones of St. Ebba and St. Ethelgifa, 
and many other saints, might be found, which, on his discovering the 
place, were first exposed by him as holy relics, to be worshipped by the 
people, and afterwards placed with the body of St. Cuthbert." 

Cenwalch, after the just vengeance of Penda had caused his abdication, 
retired to the protection of Anna, King of east Anglia, a pious and 
excellent monarch, who took upon himself to reprove his guest freely for 
his ill-treatment of Queen Saxburga. Sigebert, king of Essex, also 
remonstrated so strongly in favour of the Queen, and so powerfully urged 
the principles of the Christian faith, that at last Cenwalch became a con- 
vert, and in 648 received the baptismal rite 3 from Felix, a Burgundian 
priest, who, after being seventeen years Bishop of East Anglia, was ele- 
vated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. 4 An entire change seemed to 
have taken place in the heart of Cenwalch, who now received his Queen 
Saxburga back. Some, indeed, say that she had been reconciled to him 
prior to his conversion. The question naturally suggests itself, was this 
Queen herself of the Christian persuasion? Her brother Penda was 

1 Bradshawe's Life of St. Werburga; Richard, Prior of Hexham. 
" Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church. 
* Bede. * Rapin. 

22 



254 SAXBURGA. 

certainly one of the bitterest persecutors of the Church throughout the 
whole period of the Saxon Heptarchy. Still Saxburga might have era- 
braced the doctrine at the time of the conversion of Kynigils, and per- 
haps this was the cause of her repudiation, more especially if they became 
reconciled to each other either on the eve of the conversion of Cenwalch 
or immediately after that event. 

These two important events to Saxburga, her husband's conversion 
and her own reconciliation to him, were succeeded by another not less 
gratifying. Their nephew, Cuthred, son of Cwichelme, entered into a 
negotiation with Cenwalch relative to his restoration to his dominions. 
The conversion of Cenwalch first induced him to assist him in his diffi- 
culties, and to receive him at Ashendon, 1 in Bucks, where the preliminary 
arrangements were made between the two kings, and the remuneration 
settled upon for the services rendered by Cuthred on the occasion. It 
was there stipulated that all that part of the kingdom which lay north- 
ward from the river Thames, and the extent of which was computed at 
3000 hides, 2 containing within its limits as many villages, should be held 
hereafter by Cuthred for his principality : s these lands granted to Cuthred 
lay near Ashendon, where the agreement was made, and amounted to 
about a third part of the kingdom of Cenwalch. 4 After this arrange- 
ment, Cuthred successfully aided Cenwalch in the enterprise of recovering 
the crown, which he had forfeited through his own errors. Cenwalch 
and Saxburga from that time forward seem to have lived in the most 
entire harmony : this lasting for a long succession of years, must have 
repaid Saxburga for all her past affliction. The husband, no longer a 
Pagan in heart, showed in every action that he was worthy to profess 
the mild doctrines of Christianity, and became a blessing to himself and 
others. 

The first employment of Cenwalch on his recovery of the throne, after 
fulfilling his contract with Cuthred, was to complete the edifice at Win- 
chester which had been founded by his father, and built under the direc- 
tions of St. Birinus, Bishop of Dorchester. It was completed in 648, 
and in a style of magnificence unusual in those times. St. Birinus came 
to Winchester when it was completed, and solemnly dedicated the building 
in the name of the Holy Trinity and of Saints Peter and Paul. The 
same year the holy prelate died, and though in the first instance buried 
at Dorchester, where he usually dwelt, his remains were eventually trans- 
ferred to Winchester Catheral. 5 

It is not stated that either Cenwalch or Saxburga quitted Britain during 
the fatal visitation of the plague in Britain. The following is, however, 
a Welsh record concerning a princess called Saxburga, and who probably 
was the same : — " When the plague and famine had ceased its long 
ravages, those Saxons who had had the good fortune to escape, sent intelli- 
gence to Germany of the thinness of the population in Britain, represent- 

1 Or iEscendune, in the forest of Brentwode, included in the territory of Wes- 
sex. — Kennet, Lipscombe. 
' Lipscombe's History of Bucks. * Palgrave. * Bede. 

6 Holinshed, Milner, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 



SAXBURGA. 255 

ing how easily a new settlement might be made. Accordingly a vast 
number of men and women landed in the north, under Queen Sexburgis, 
and settled in Britain, from Norway to Cornwall, without opposition from 
the Britons. By 'Norway' the Welsh Chronicle here means Northum- 
berland, sometimes called Albany. In the Highlands of Scotland two 
districts were formerly entitled Norway and Denmark, because colonized 
from those countries, which frequently occasions a confusion in the mind 
of readers unacquainted with the fact, when referred to in our histories 
under those names." ' The date of that event, 664, makes it possible 
that this was no other than Saxburga, the Abbess-Queen of Kent. 

Cenwalch survived the desolating scourge of the yellow plague about 
eight years, having reigned altogether thirty-one years, three of which he 
had passed in exile. He died in 672, giving, at the last, a most convincing 
proof of his respect for Saxburga, by bequeathing to her the administration 
of the affairs of the state, a step the more remarkable, as it was quite unpre- 
cedented. Saxburga is, in fact, the solitary instance of a Queen-Begnant 
during the entire dominion of the Anglo-Saxons. 2 The measure was impru- 
dent ; and the people, disdaining to fight under a woman, not long after 
the death of Cenwalch, rebelled against the widowed Queen, and displaced 
her from the high office which had been confided to her by her husband's 
will. Some, indeed, say that the Queen continued in power during the 
space of two years; 3 and others, that for half that period, her power was 
shared by Egwin, and that he, after her death, reigned one year by him- 
self, 4 and was then succeeded by Kentwin. 5 However this might be, the 
kingdom seems to have been divided for ten years among the Ealdormen, 
after the decease of Cenwalch, and the short period during which Saxburga 
held her authority over the people. During that space of time, however 
brief, Saxburga proved herself in every respect worthy to discharge the 
duties of her office. One of our old chroniclers describes this Saxon 
Queen-Regnant as having " levied new forces, and preserved the old in 
their duty," ruling her subjects with moderation, and overawing her 
enemies ; in short, that " she conducted all things in such a manner, that 
no difference was discoverable, except that of sex." It was a misfortune 
to her people to lose such a ruler, whose character seems to have combined 
some of the characteristics of her dauntless brother Penda, possessing his 
splendid talents without his defects. 

1 Roberts's British History. a William of Malmesbury. 

3 Matthew of Westminster. * Bromton, William of Malmesbury. 

6 Bromton 



OSTRIDA AND WERBURGA, 

QUEENS OF MERCIA. 

Ostrida marries Ethelred, the youDgest son of Penda — Elfwin slain — Archbishop 
Theodore endeavours to reconcile the Kings — Ostrida removes the bones of 
Saint Oswald — Abbey of Bardney — The miracle of the pillar of light — The 
standard — Embroidery — The spinsters — Visit of Ethelhild — Holy dust — Its 
effect — Ostrida slain — Ferocity of the times — Ethelred abdicates — He becomes 
Abbot at Bardney — Kenred makes a pilgrimage to Rome — Werberga enters a 
convent. 

Ostrida was the youngest of Oswy's daughters by his Queen, En- 
fleda, and was born in the year 657, the fifteenth of her father's reign, 
about the period when her sister Alfleda was united to Peada, the eldest 
son of the Mercian King. This princess was lineally descended from 
Ida, founder of the Kingdom of Northumberland, on her father's side ; 
while on that of her mother, grand-daughter of Bertha and Ethelbert, 
she claimed her origin from the French monarchs, and the famous hero 
Woden, the common' ancestor of the Anglo-Saxon princes. Bradshawe, 
writing of Ostrida, calls her " a beautiful lady, of noble lineage, born in 
the north part." 

The death of Oswy took place when Ostrida was only thirteen years 
of age, and her half-brother, Egfrid, formerly a hostage at the Mercian 
court, became King. 1 It was in the seventh year of Egfrid's reign that 
Ostrida married Ethelred, the youngest of Penda's sons, who had been 
on the throne about three years. 2 Notwithstanding this alliance, two 
years afterwards, Ethelred, though a peace-loving prince, made war on 
Egfrid, who had invaded his dominions. The cause of the dispute be- 
tween these near relatives was this : some towns in Mercia had been 
taken in the reign of Wulphere, and Ethelred demanded restitution from 
Egfrid of the province of the Lindiswaras. 3 In a great battle, fought 
near the river Trent, Elfwin, a youth of eighteen, brother of Egfrid and 
Alfleda the former Queen of the Mercians, was unhappily slain — a prince 
who was dear to both nations for his mother's sake. 

This painful occurrence would have caused the war to break out more 
fiercely than ever, but for the timely interposition of Theodore, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, who succeeded in reconciling the two Kings and 
their people, without any one being put to death on the occasion. The 
usual mulct for a murder was, however, paid by Ethelred to King Egfrid. 

1 Holinshed. 2 Speed, Palgrave, Leland. 

3 Natives of Lincolnshire. — Lingard, Rapin, Bede. 

(256) 



OSTRIDA. 257 

It is thought that the lasting peace which followed, and even Ethelred's 
secure possession of the crown he wore, were secured to him by the fact 
of his being united to Ostrida, the Northumbrian princess ; for, though 
the were for Elfwin's death was paid, he recovered the possession of the 
disputed territories A. D. 679. 

Ostrida was present at a grand general witenagemote, held at Heath- 
field (now Bishop's Hatfield, in Hertfordshire), by her husband, which 
was attended by all the chief prelates of the Saxon Heptarchy, the object 
of the meeting being to preserve the English Church from the heresy of 
the Eutyches. On this occasion, King Ethelred made large donations to 
the Abbey of Peterborough, besides confirming previous grants. Ostrida 
appended her name to the new donation made by the King at this 
assembly — " I, Ostrida, Ethelred's Queen, confirm it." This signature 
is preceded by those of Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury ; Wilfred, 
Archbishop of York ; and Sexwulf, first Abbot of Peterborough, but at 
that time Bishop of Lichfield; and after the Queen's name appear those 
of Adrian, the Pope's legate; Putta, Bishop of Kochester; and Wald- 
here, Bishop of London. Before the grant of King Ethelred was signed, 
the Pope's letter was read, ratified, and confirmed by the council. ' 

One of the most interesting acts of Queen Ostrida was her removal 
of the bones of her uncle, King Oswald, to Bardney Abbey, 2 in Lin- 
colnshire. 

The Abbey of Bardney, founded by King Ethelred, 3 is thus spoken 
of by Bede, 'in his account of some miracles which attended the transla- 
tion of the relics of that sainted king. " There is a noble monastery, in 
the province of Lindsey, called Beardeneu, which Queen Ostrida and her 
husband Ethelred much loved, and conferred upon it many honours and 
ornaments." It was here that she was desirous to lay the venerable 
bones of her uncle. The fulfilment of her purpose brought to light a 
strong point of feeliug in the minds of the Mercians. "When the 
wagon in which these bones were carried, arrived towards evening in the 
aforesaid monastery, they that were in it refused to admit them, because, 
though they knew him to be a holy man, yet, as he was originally of 
another province, and had reigned over them as a foreign king, they 
retained their ancient aversion to him even after death. Thus it came 
to pass that the relics were left in the open air all that night, with only 
u large tent spread over them." Small respect seems here to have been 
6hown to the wishes of the royal lady, their Queen and mistress. A 
miracle was requisite to discover to them their error : through the whole 
night, from the wagon up to the heavens, was seen a pillar of light, 
visible throughout the province of Lindsey; and the next day, the very 
brethren who had refused to receive the royal relics, prayed to God to 
permit them to be deposited among them. Accordingly the bones, being 
washed, were put into a shrine which they had made for that purpose, 
and placed in the church with due honour; and that there might be a 
" perpetual memorial" of the royal Oswald, " they hung up over the 

1 Saxon Chronicle, Dugdale, vol i. 67, Turner. 

2 Fabian says " the Abbey of Bourdeaux." n Willis's Abbeys. 

22* a 



258 OS T RID A. 

monument his banner, made of gold and purple." ' This standard bad 
been wrought " by no hands, as ye may guess," but those of Queen 
Ostrida herself, who, by her own industry, and at her own cost, decorated 
the tomb in which the hallowed relics of her departed relative were 
deposited. 2 

During the seventh century, much talent was exhibited by our Anglo- 
Saxon countrywomen in the art of embroidery : women of the highest 
rank excelled in the accomplishment, and the example was followed by 
others. The products of this feminine industry and skill were usually 
devoted to the Church and its ministers, 3 and were esteemed so valuable 
as to become heirlooms, bequeathed by their owners to those most dear to 
them. The needles of illustrious women were busy, from the fair Ostrida, 
who wrought the tragedy of a murdered uncle, to the Norman Matilda, 
who depicted upon canvas the heroic actions of a warlike husband. The 
Anglo-Saxon ladies excelled in needlework and gold embroidery, and also 
were acquainted with the arts of weaving and dyeing. The last is alluded 
to by St. Aldhelm, in these words : " The shuttles, not filled with purple 
only, but with various colours, are moved here and there among the thick 
spreading of the threads, and by the embroidering art they adorn all the 
woven work with various groups of images." Spinning was, indeed, so 
common an employment of the female sex, even among women of royal 
blood, that the will of King Alfred terms the members of his family who 
were of the female side, " the spindle side ;" so that the modern term of 
" spinster" has descended to us in allusion to those unmarried, and able 
to devote themselves to feminine accomplishments more exclusively. 

The banner of Ostrida is said to have been wrought of purple and gold : 
a robe worn by Aldhelm was constructed of a purple ground, composed of 
delicate thread, upon which appeared black circles; and in those circles 
were wrought the figures of peacocks, of an ample size. Such was the 
taste of the seventh century, in which age abundance of goldsmiths and 
jewellers were to be found ready to assist the fair patronesses of their art; 
of whom Bede says, that they were skilled in collecting " remarkable and 
precious stones, to be placed among the gold and silver, which were mostly 
of a ruddy or aerial colour." It was customary with the sovereigns of 
the Heptarchy to present rich garments, vases, bracelets, and rings, to 
their witenagemote and courtiers, which example was followed by their 
queens-consort. 4 

The superstitions of the days in which Ostrida lived are well attested 
by the miracles related by the venerable Bede. One of those is connected 

1 Bede. a Speed, Butler, Harding. 

3 An example of the clerical costume of the seventh century may be seen in 
the church of Malmsbury, in Wilts, in the figure of St. Peter, who, with other 
apostles, is wrought, in the south porch of that edifice, in basso-relievo ; the date 
given by Fosbrooke is 675; the work is Saxon, and sketched in 1801. The 
double keys in the right hand of St. Peter (head of the Church) ; book, with 
jewels, of the New Testament in the left; the robes are becoming and well-dis- 
posed, jewels on the border of the neck, feet bare. The doorway at the entrance 
of the same church, exhibits the figure of a religious, in basso-relievo, dressed in 
ihe simple monk's habit, hood, &c. — Fosbrooke's Brit. Monachism. 

' Sharon Turner. 



OSTRIDA. 259 

with the Queen, who, at the time, was on a visit at Bardney Abbey. 
Ethelhild, sister of the abbot, came there to pay her respects to her royal 
mistress, from her own convent, which was not far distant. The conver- 
sation happening to turn on the uncle-saint of Ostrida, Lady Ethelhild 
remarked, she had been an eye-witness of the pillar of light which reached 
from earth to heaven, before alluded to. The Queen thereupon added, 
that the very dust of the pavement, on which the water that washed the 
bones had been spilt, had already healed many sick persons.' The abbess, 
upon hearing this, desired that some of the said dust might be given her, 
which she tied up in a cloth, and putting it into a casket, returned home. 
Not long after, a visitor at the monastery was suddenly seized with an 
evil spirit, so that none could bind him, and the abbess, with one of the 
nuns, was sent for to his assistance. All efforts to assuage his madness 
were fruitless ; but suddenly the abbess had recourse to the holy dust in 
the casket, which she had received from Queen Ostrida. When a small 
portion was given to the sufferer, and after the priest had prayed over 
him, he had a quiet night, nor was he ever after disturbed by his old 
enemy. Bede, who related this adventure of Ethelhild, speaks of her as 
"a certain venerable abbess of that name, who is still living." 

Ostrida' s union with Ethelred lasted for twenty years, during which 
she had but one son, who received the name of Ceolred. 2 A sad fate 
overtook her soon after this period : she was upon a journey through 
North Mercia, and was attacked and slain by the people of the district 
over which her husband ruled; these were the South Humbrians, or 
people of the territories which lay south of the Trent. This treasonable 
act is supposed to have been committed by the heads of the State, who 
raised an insurrection to revenge on Ostrida the death of Peada, their 
former King, murdered by Alchfleda, the Queen's half-sister. Unlikely 
as such a cause might be, that circumstance having occurred when Ostrida 
was yet in her cradle, it has been assigned by our historians, in the ab- 
sence of any evidence as to the real one which occasioned the Queen's 
untimely end. This tragical event affords an example of the ferocity of 
the times : it happened A. D. 697, Ostrida being forty years of age, half 
of which she had resided among the people to whom she owed her unde- 
served death. Ethelred had reigned twenty-three years with much 
honour, when he was bereaved of his consort. The little care taken 
either by himself or his son to discover the murderers, has led to a sus- 
picion that the King personally connived at the circumstance ; or, that 
the murderer was too nearly connected with him to be denounced. 
Whether this was the case or not, it is a fact, that the cruel death of Os- 
trida so affected the mind of Ethelred, that from that time he could not 
discharge the duties of royalty, but resigned his regal dignity and domin- 
ions to Kenred, his nephew, son of Wulphere . whether sorrow for her 
loss, or penitence for his own share in the crime, induced this, is unknown. 

Kenred was arrived at maturity, and the son of Ostrida was still too 

1 It had the virtue of expelling devils from the bodies of persons possessed. — 
Bede. 

4 Speed, Rapin, Langhornii Chron., Palgrave, Holinshed. 



260 WERBURGA. 

young to govern ; so that in his abdication Ethelred consulted the wishes 
of the discontented nation. He assumed the monastic habit of the Bene- 
dictines, and having first taken the vows at Bardney, became abbot of 
that monastery, which had been patronized by his consort when living, 
afterwards her place of abode, and where her last mortal remains now 
reposed. 1 

Ethelred abdicated in 704, 2 the time of his entering the cloister ; and 
eight years after became abbot. He discharged the duties of his station 
for four years only, at the end of which he died at an advanced age, having 
survived Queen Ostrida nineteen years. The royal founder and Abbot 
of Bardney was interred in that monastery, where his tomb was still to 
be seen in the days of William of Malmesbury. The piety and munifi- 
cence of Ethelred and Ostrida caused their names to be numbered among 
the Saxon saints. 

The royal donation of a crown temporal in these times was "found 
wanting," when weighed in the balance with the crown eternal, which 
prince and peasant alike strove to obtain. In the hope of a reward in 
heaven, Kenred returned the present of a kingdom to his cousin Ceolred, 
the son of Ostrida, and making a pilgrimage to Rome, passed the residue 
of his life there in penance and devotion; he had been accompanied in 
his devotional expedition by Offa, King of Essex, who had married a 
sister of Ethelred and Wulphere. Kenred died at Rome, A. D. 711. 3 

Ceolred, after an eight years' reign, died King of Mercia, and was 
buried in the chapel of Mary, at Litchfield Cathedral, where stood the 
shrine of St. Chad. He left no children by his Queen "VVerburga, who, 
like her namesake, the daughter of Wulphere and Ermenilda, received 
the honours of canonization. Of the family whence the royal Werburga, 
wife of Ceolred, sprang, historians leave us in ignorance. When her 
husband died, Werburga entered a monastery, probably that in Holy 
Island, where she was residing at the time of her death, which event is 
placed by the Saxon Chronicle in 782-783, and is given by Hoveden in 
these words : — " Werburga, formerly Queen of the Mercians, then abbess, 
ceased to live here, that she might live for ever with Christ, anno 783." 

Werburga had arrived at a good old age, in the habitual practice of 
piety and virtue ; her character is given in these words : " Like the holy 
widow, Anna the prophetess, she never departed from our Lord's temple, 
serving God night and day, in abstinence and prayer, for the space of 
sixty-five years. For the latter part of that time she was abbess of the 
monastery, and showed no less humility in governing others than she had 
before in obeying." 4 Beautiful, at all times, is Christian humility ; but 
how much more so when viewed amidst the attributes of pomp and power, 
as in a queen towards her subjects, or an abbess to the flock committed 
to her charge ! Werburga was not a solitary instance ; for another 
Queen, named Richthryda, adorned this period of the Saxon Heptarchy 
by embracing the desired employments of another life, it being her office 
" to carry oil with lamps before the great ones of the Lord." 

1 Willis's Abbeys. 

2 Willis says 712, and that Ethelred was abbot only four years. 

3 Holinshed, Pennant. * Brit. Sancta. 



QUENBURGA, QUENSWITHA, AND ALFLEDA. 

The daughters of Penda — Penda's warlike propensities — Queen Keniswitha ac- 
cepts the care of Oswy's son — Quenburga's marriage — Peada and Alfleda — 
Stipulations — Peada baptized at Carlisle — Penda's opinions — Influence of 
females in conversion — Quenburga's devotion — Court of Alfred a monastic 
school — Alfred's death — Quenburga returns to her father's dominions — Retires 
to Dormund Caistor — The three sisters all become nuns — Penda's death — Death 
of Peada — His wife, his mother, and his mistress suspected of his murder — 
Oswy seizes his dominions — Two young princesses take the veil. 

" Keneburg in this our sainted front shall stand, 
To Alfred the loved wife, King of Northumberland." 

Drayt07i , s Poly Olbion. 

Quenburga and Quenswitha were sisters : their father Penda, King 
of Mercia, had a very numerous family by his Queen, who also bore the 
name of Quenswitha. Four princes, Peada, Wupher, Ethelred, and 
Merowald, became noted Kings of the Saxon Heptarchy. Mercelin, a 
fifth, was celebrated for piety, and has been entered on the saintly calen- 
dar ; * while, besides the two daughters already named, whose honourable 
career has transmitted their names to posterity, may be mentioned their 
sisters Quendrida, Idaberge, and Walburga, the last of whom wore the 
crown-matrimonial of Sussex. 

The father of this remarkable family maintained his power for thirty 
years, which he spent in continual wars with his neighbours. His ad- 
venturous spirit " hated peace worse than death." Five Kings of the 
Anglo-Saxons perished in contending against his arms, besides the re- 
nowned Edwin and Oswald. Penda, in his sister Saxburga's cause, 
turned his arms against Northumberland, and penetrated as far as the 
capital city of Bamborough, setting fire to every habitation in the line of 
his march. Oswy, the Northumbrian monarch, warned by the fate of 
his kingly predecessors, made every effort to conciliate his formidable 
enemy. He not only sent him the most valuable presents, but delivered 
over his second son, Egfrid, as a hostage into the care of Queen Kenes- 
witha, wife of Penda. It was on this occasion that a match was pro- 
posed, which it was hoped would establish a lasting peace between the 
two hostile nations. This was the marriage of Alfred, eldest son of 
Oswy, by Enfleda, the Kentish princess, to Quenburga, daughter of the 
Mercian King. This tie, which took place shortly after, was very im- 
portant in its consequences. On the occasion of Quenburga's coming to 
Northumberland, she was accompanied by her eldest brother Peada, who 

1 Speed, Rapin, Malmesbury, Fabian, Butler. 

(261) 



262 A L FLED A. 

then beheld and fell in love with Alfleda, half-sister of Alfred, the King's 
illegitimate daughter, by a lady bearing the same name, and who was 
sister of Egfrid, and of another Alfred often mistaken for the son of 
Enfleda, who had married Quenburga. 1 

Peada 2 demanded Alfleda of Oswy for his bride, but Oswy refused to 
accede to the proposal of the Mercian prince, unless he would become a 
convert to the faith his daughter professed. The royal husband of his 
sister Quenburga was a firm believer in Christianity ; she was mainly 
instrumental in persuading Peada to embrace its holy doctrines ; and that 
he did this from a sincere conviction, appears from the answer he made 
when interrogated on the subject : he remarked, with much warmth, 
, " that no consideration, not even the refusal of Alfleda, should provoke 
him to return to the worship of Wodin." 

Peada was accordingly baptized prior to his union with Alfleda ; the 
ceremony was performed by Bishop Finnan, and all his train received the 
sacred rite with him. This interesting event was witnessed at Carlisle. 
This city had arrived at great consequence under the Romans, and though 
afterwards ravaged by the Picts and Scots, was still, for its ancient 
splendour, accounted a city. When, in a later period, Egfrid, the brother 
of Alfleda, reigned in Northumberland, he gave the city to St. Cuthbert ; 
and Bede paid a visit there in 686, at the time St. Cuthbert was bishop 
of Lindisfarne, and describes the walls, which the townspeople took him 
to see, and a fountain or well of admirable workmanship, which had been 
early constructed by the Romans. 3 

Before Peada quitted Mercia, in 653, he had been crowned by his 
father King of Leicester, so that Alfleda might be considered by her 
marriage Queen of that portion of the Heptarchy. At this period Mercia 
was divided into two parts, called North and South Mercia, the river 
Trent forming the boundary between them ; the southern division, which 
belonged to Peada, was called also the Mediterranean, or Middle Angles, 
and contained 7000 households. The young Queen was conducted by 
her husband into his dominions, attended by his train, and by four Chris- 
tian priests, Cidd, Betti, Adda, and Diuma, whom he engaged to instruct 
his subjects in the new faith. 4 It had been expected that Penda would 
oppose his son's conversion, as he was a great enemy to Christianity ; but 
either all religions were alike to him, or he treated the subject with com- 
placency for the sake of a son much beloved ; for not only did he suffer, 
and indeed promote, first the marriage of Quenburga to the pious Alfred, 
but afterwards the conversion of Peada, and the alliance stipulated as its 
result to take place with Alfleda. More than this, he admitted Chris- 

1 The second Alfred, King of Northumberland, was brother of Egfrid, who suc- 
ceeded Oswy, of whom they were illegitimate children. The first Alfred, who 
married Quenburga of Mercia, reigned over Deira, but at his death the people 
of that district revolted in favour of Egfrid. The youth of the second Alfred was 
passed in exile in Ireland, whence he was afterwards recalled to assume the 
crowns of Bernicia and Deira. 

a Lingard, Biographia Britannica, Holinshed. 

3 Britton and Brayley, Holinshed, Rapin, Lingard. 

4 The first three were Angles, the last an Irishman. — Bede, lib. ill. c. 21. 



QUENBURGA. 2G3 

tianity among the Mercians, but in doing so forbade that the Pagan rites 
should be intermixed with those of the Christians, as had occurred in 
Essex. This fierce King is said to have " especially hated and despised 
those who, after they had embraced Christianity, lived in a manner unbe- 
coming their profession," as did Eadbald and other converted princes of 
the Heptarchy, whom he regarded as " despicable wretches who would 
not obey their God, in whom they believed." ' 

The Northumbrian missionaries were successful in propagating their 
belief. The Queen herself employed her influence over the heart of her 
husband in behalf of the Christian faith, and in seconding its apostles in 
their work among his subjects. Thus it is a most remarkable fact, that 
Mercia, as well as Kent and Northumberland, the three most considera- 
ble kingdoms of the Heptarchy, were indebted for conversion to the influ- 
ence of the female sex. 2 Alfleda had only to recall to her mind the 
bright examples of Bertha and Ethelburga to receive encouragement in 
the glorious task. Peada, her amiable consort, the first Christian King 
of Mercia, was a prince of superior understanding, worthy of his exalted 
dignity, and possessed of talents which commanded the esteem and admi- 
ration of all who knew him. 

The heart of Quenburga, Queen of Deira, like that of Alfleda, was 
more set upon the kingdom of heaven than on any earthly diadem. She 
was singularly devout and pious, and her exhortations prevailed with her 
husband, King Alfred, that they should live together as brother and 
sister, rather than as husband and wife : in those times such instances of 
devotion were esteemed the most exalted proof of religion. 

Through the influence of the Queen of Deira, the court of Alfred be- 
came converted into a kind of monastic school, of regular discipline and 
Christian perfection, according to the prevalent notion. 

Alfred, however, having died during his father's life-time, 3 Quenburga 
returned to the dominions of Penda, her father. She had resolved to 
pass the residue of her days in religious seclusion, and selected for her 
retreat from the world, a town in the confines of Huntingdon and North- 
ampton, called Dornmnd Caistor. That spot suited her inclination for 
retirement, but was not the most healthy, being in a moist and fenny 
situation. Some say that a monastery had already been built there by 
Prince Wulpher, her brother ; but the general opinion is, that Quenburga 
herself founded the establishment for Christian virgins, over whom she 
presided as Abbess ; * and this seems most likely, as the town, since called 
Caistor only, was changed, at that date, from the name of Dormund Cais- 
tor to Kunneburg-ceaster, or the town of Quenburga. Into this holy 
retreat, the three sisters of the widowed Queen retired, the Princesses 
Keneswitha, Quendrida, and Idaburga, who were all consecrated at God- 
manchester. 6 

Great changes, meanwhile, befell the Christian abbess, Quenburga. 
Her husband was dead, and she had devoted herself to God. She had 
now to mourn in solitude for the warfare and loss of her father Penda, his 

1 Rapin, Roger of Wendover. a Hume, Rapin. 3 Brit. Sancta. 

4 Dugdale, vol. vi., p. 1621. * Butler. 



264 A L F L E D A . 

foe being her father-in-law, King Oswy. The particulars of this battle 
have already been related. Penda died as he had lived, a Pagan, and his 
death was that of a hero, on the battle-field. Thirty captains were slain 
fighting on the Mercian side on that eventful day, and those who did 
escape, of their party, were drowned in their flight, in the river Winwid. 1 
Among the prisoners taken on the field of strife were the widowed Queen 
of Penda, Keneswitha, and Egfrid, her hostage, brother to Queen Alfleda. 

These were painful tidings for the ears of the royal sisters of Mercia, 
to Peada and his consort, and the three sons of the deceased king. They 
were followed by a yet more tragical event, the sudden and mysterious 
death of Peada. 2 The catastrophe of his murder occurred during the 
festival of Easter, but the true author of the deed is unknown. Three 
persons stand charged with the crime. The amiable Alfleda, his consort, 
whose irreproachable life renders such a deed most improbable. Oswy's 
mistress, who was a Pagan, of whom Robert de Swapham, quoted by 
Speed, remarks, "this blot is taken from the Christian lady, Alfleda, and 
brands the face of her that most deserveth it." 

The third party accused of Peada's death, is his own mother, the cap- 
tive Queen Keneswitha. This charge is so unlikely to be true, as to 
need no refutation. Of the three accused parties, Oswy's mistress seems 
most likely to have been guilty, and perhaps her daughter was made the 
tool of her intrigues on this occasion : this opinion derives strength from 
the fact, that on Peada's death, Oswy seized his dominions, and held them, 
with the rest of Mercia, till driven thence by Wulphere, brother of the 
deceased monarch. After the death of Peada, the name of Alfleda, his 
consort, disappears from the Chronicles. 

It is worthy of remark, that the children of Penda, so notorious an 
opponent of Christianity, were all distinguished for their extraordinary 
piety. All his four sons, who in succession ruled over Mercia, actively 
supported the new doctrine, and their sisters became famous in the calen- 
dar of saints. 3 

St. Keneswitha was very young when she lost her father, and having 
resolved to consecrate herself to God, she took the veil in the Monastery 
of Dormund Caistor, over which her sister, the foundress, presided as 
first Abbess. Her elder sister, Quendrida, assumed the religious habit 
with her. These two young votaries are described by historians, as being 
"eminent for holiness." 4 As for their royal protectress and sister, Quen- 
burga, she was "a mirror of sanctity, so that many virgins of all ranks 
and degrees resorted to her monastery, to be instructed in the rules and 
exercises of a religious life; and while the daughters of princes reverenced 
' her as a mistress, the poor were admitted to regard her as a companion, 
and both the one and the other honoured her as a parent." 

1 Winwidfield, near Leeds. 

3 Holinshed, Rapin, Robert de Swapham, Speed. 3 Ingulphus. 

4 Palgrave. 



HERESWYTHA, SEXBURGA, ETHELDREDA, ERMEN- 
BURGE, AND ERMENILDA. 

Religious enthusiasm — Church building — Queen Hereswytha, "the mother of 
many Saints" — Her husband, King Anna — Etheldreda and Thonbert — She re- 
tires to a monastery — Her second marriage to Egfrid — Their establishment — 
Egfrid's remonstrance — Etheldreda goes to a convent, accompanied by Bishop 
Wilfred — Architecture and Church Music patronised by AVilfred — Anger of 
Egfrid — Their separation : he re-marries — Ermenburge persecutes AVilfred — 
Anglo-Saxon carriage — Wilfred's trials — Sexburga's piety — Her daughter — 
The Abbess Hildelitha — The Convent of Minstre — Ermenilda's, and her young 
daughter Werburga's, piety — Murder of the young princes, Wulfade and Rutin 
— Werburga's profession — The Abbess Etheldreda's edifying death — St. 
Audrey's lace, and St. Etheldred's chain — Ely Monastery — Sexburga's happy 
death — The butterfly shadow — Miracles — St.Werburga, the Patroness of Ches- 
ter — Ely Cathedral — Antiquities — The stone cross of Etheldreda. 

The distinguishing feature of the seventh century was religious en- 
thusiasm. It was a period when self-negation was looked upon as the 
prime virtue, and females in high position thought it incumbent upon 
them to devote their lives to self-sacrifices, of a nature which, in these 
days, do not carry with them the eminent character of virtue which they 
were then thought to bestow. 

Monkish writers naturally enlarge on the holiness and purity of a life 
of celibacy, and infinite credit has been given to many persons in those 
remote ages, whose acts, considered by them worthy, were calculated to 
cause unhappiness and discontent to others. Of this kind was the con- 
duct of several of the consorts of the Saxon monarchs, who, consenting 
to become wives, did not comprehend the duties of the state into which 
they had entered, and adopted the habits of recluses in the midst of a 
court ; disappointing the hopes of the country, which looked to them to 
become the mothers of princes who should perpetuate the line of succes- 
sion, and whose example of attachment and tenderness to the husbands 
they had accepted should afford an example to their female subjects. 

Mistaken piety led many royal wives into a perfectly opposite course 
to what is an evident duty, and much inconvenience, as well as vexation, 
ensued in the State in consequence. But whatever are our present 
notions, the ascetic behaviour adopted at this early period of history was 
looked upon as a proof of every Christian virtue, and was probably a 
natural reaction from the licentiousness of Paganism. 

Unbounded praise is bestowed by most Roman Catholic writers on 
those Queens who converted their palaces into nunneries, and looked 
upon tbeir husbauds as merely brethren of a community, whose earthly 
23 (265) 



266 HEEESWYTHA — SEXBURGA. 

love it was their duty to repudiate, and with whom it was praiseworthy 
to live on terms of the strictest severity. Occasionally the partners of 
these holy and religious ladies shared their enthusiasm, and devoted 
themselves to the same life ; but in some cases it was different, and the 
whole country was thrown into a ferment in consequence of the domestic 
troubles ensuing. 

To have erected and endowed a church or a monastery is always spoken 
of by early historians as the most praiseworthy of acts, and almost count- 
less are the edifices raised in the seventh century to prove the zeal of the 
new converts to the true faith. The Queens of Ercombert, Egfrid, and 
Wulphere were not the least amongst those pious personages, who strove 
to gain the approbation of man and the favour of Heaven by expending 
enormous sums on religious buildings. 

Not one of the princes of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy was more emi- 
nent for piety than Anna, King of East Anglia, who had sheltered Cen- 
walch from the indignant wrath of his fierce brother-in-law Penda, King 
of Mercia; nor was there a more excellent and amiable princess than 
Hereswytha, his consort, who for her own piety and the holiness of her 
offspring, has been entitled the " mother of many saints." Of her first 
husband, to whom she bore a son and a daughter, 1 no account is accu- 
rately given : three sons and three daughters were the offspring of her 
union with King Anna. The sons of Hereswytha were Jurminus, Adul- 
phus, and Erkenwald ; her daughters were Ethelburga, Sexburga, Ethel- 
dreda, Oslave, and Withburga. 

Sexburga, whose education had been carefully attended to (for women 
at this time were highly instructed), became the wife of Ercombert, King 
of Kent, who was remarkable both for his zeal in religion and his patri- 
otism. He was first to establish the fast of Lent in his division of the 
Heptarchy, where he razed the temples of heathenism, and extirpated the 
idolatrous worship so long prevailing. Queen Sexburga encouraged her 
husband in all his religious undertakings, sharing in his exertions, and 
confirming his resolution by her counsel and example. " Thus," says the 
Chronicle, " while her virtue, humility, and devotion excited the admira- 
tion and reverence of the people, her goodness and unbounded charity 
gained for her more especially the love of the poor. Although she had 
married in obedience to the will of her parents, she would have preferred 
the cloister to a palace, a church to matrimony, and the service of Christ 
to worldly empire." 2 

Etheldreda 3 was the destined wife of Thonbert, an Englishman of 

1 St. Sethrid, Hereswytha's daughter by the first husband, was honoured by the 
early English as a saint, though her name is not contained in any calendar. She 
succeeded St. Fara, abbess and foundress of Faremoutiers, in France, in her high 
office, and was honoured, on the 6th or 7th of May, as St. Sethrid, or Sessetru- 
dis. — Butler's Lives, Jan. 10 and Dec. 7. 

3 Bromton. 

3 The uncertainty of orthography in former times is well exemplified in the 
name of Etheldreda. Its abbreviation is Eldrude, a compound of Saxon and 
British, from "Ell," the reduplicative pronoun, and "drud," "illustrious" or 
"well-beloved." — Butler. 



ETHELDREDA. 267 

noble birth. From her infancy she had been distinguished by her hu- 
mility and devotion, which led her, in conformity with a custom at that 
time enjoined by the Church, to take upon herself a vow of perpetual 
celibacy, devoting herself entirely to the service of Christ. This vow 
she never violated, though she twice entered the connubial state. She 
was induced to accept Thonbert for her nominal husband, in conformity 
with the wishes of her parents, and with him she is said to have lived 
for three years, as a holy sister, in accordance with her early vow. He 
was Prince of the Southern Girvii, having authority over Rutland, 
Northampton, and part of Lincolnshire, those districts being ruled by 
their own princes, who were subject to the Kings of Mercia. To this 
domain was added the Isle of Ely, upon his marriage with Etheldreda, 
to whom it was given as a bridal dowry. 1 At the end of two years, 
Etheldreda' s father, King Anna, with his son Jurminus, was slain in 
battle by Penda, and the death of her husband followed shortly after. 
Returning into solitude, the young widow could now uninterruptedly de- 
vote herself to religious duties, and humble herself before Him who 
"loveth those whom he chasteneth." 

Her mother Hereswyda, to whom she was tenderly attached, and who, 
on the death of King Anna, had retired to France with her own sister 
Hilda, and entered the Monastery of Chelles, died at this time. 

The famous Monastery of Chelles, five leagues distant from Paris, on 
the Marne, though founded by Clotilda, Queen of France, was chiefly 
endowed by St. Bathilde, a Saxon Queen. Hilda had resolved to end her 
days in that establishment, but the loss of her sister broke the tie which 
bound her to the spot, and she suffered herself to be prevailed on by St. 
Aidan to return into Northumberland, where she is afterwards distin- 
guished as the Abbess of Whitby. 

The deaths of Thonbert and of Hereswyda occurred in 655, and the 
year after Adulphus succeeded to the throne of his father Anna, Ethel- 
dreda remaining in Ely, occupying herself in " fasting, prayer, vigils, and 
penance." Vainly, however, did the widowed princess seclude herself 
from the world. The fame of her beauty and her virtue had spread, and 
attracted the attention of Egfrid, one of the most powerful Kings of the 
Saxon Heptarchy, who then governed Northumberland, and he desired to 
obtain her in marriage. Etheldreda, however, refused to become his 
wife, 

" Though her sister Sexburge moened her tenderly;" 
until the Prince urged his suit with such importunity, promising that her 
vow should be held sacred, that she yielded her consent ; 

"And at the maryage was great solemnyte, 
Trumphes, honoures, on every side, 
Great cost and royalte." a 

This word, however, is written indifferently — which is sufficiently confusing — 
Etheldrida, Etheldrith, Adelfrida, Adelthrid, Ediltrudis, or Audrey. The name 
of Etheldreda signifies "noble advice." [Camden.] Hereswyda is indifferently 
written with a d or th — the sound being the same. 

1 Butler, Bradshawe. a Bradshawe. 



268 ETHELDREDA. 

Ely was probably tbe scene of tbe nuptial festivity, as King Egfrid 
came there to seek his bride. 1 Five years had been passed byEtheldreda 
in widowhood when, by her second espousals to Egfrid, she became Queen 
of Northumberland. 

During twelve years from the date of this union, Etheldreda resided 
with her consort as his sister, not as his wife; for neither the affection of 
the husband, the authority of the king, or any other inducement, was of 
any avail in inducing her to break the vows she had made to Heaven. 
Egfrid, on the other hand, felt such respect for his wife, and was so much 
affected by the example of her virtue, that he allowed her full liberty to 
fast, watch, and pray, and to devote her time to acts of piety and charity, 
during that space of time ; but his own youth, and the great desire of his 
subjects that he should have heirs, at length led him to make representa- 
tions, not indeed to Etheldreda herself, whose reproof he feared, but to 
Bishop Wilfred, who possessed the entire confidence of the Queen, and 
she was in the habit of consulting him on all occasions. Etheldreda had 
bestowed on him, with the consent of her husband, Hexham, which she 
is believed to have obtained as her own bridal dowry from Egfrid, for an 
episcopal see ; and Wilfred built in it a church and monastery, the struc- 
ture of which surpassed any in England. Italian architects, masons, and 
glaziers 2 were hired to assist in its erection, and it was furnished with 
plate and holy vestments, besides containing a large collection of the 
Lives of the Saints, and a noble ecclesiastical library. 3 Sacred music was 
first patronized in Northumberland in Etheldreda's time. St. Acca, a 
subsequent Bishop of Hexham, himself a learned musician and author of 
many literary productions, especially of a religious nature, retained in his 
service for twelve years a famous singer named Maban, by whose instruc- 
tions the use of church music and singing of anthems was revived, and 
who introduced many Latin hymns before unknown in the northern 
churches. 4 

Several charitable institutions, founded in different parts of Wilfred's 
diocese, were encouraged by Queen Etheldreda. 

1 Butler. 

2 The art of making glass was known in Britain before the coming of the Ro- 
mans, and improved by them. It was lost in the invasion of the Saxons, but 
afterwards imported among them, a. d. 664, for the ornament of churches and 
religious edifices, as Bede tells us, though not used till after the Conquest, in pri- 
vate dwellings. Specimens of Saxon glass may be seen in Westminster Abbey, 
cemented into the tomb of Edward the Confessor : they are small square or dia- 
mond-shaped pieces, not more than an inch in length, and lined with gold leaf. 
Similar ornaments were seen in a tomb discovered in repairing Rochester Cathe- 
dral, though of rather a later date. 

3 Lives of the Saints. 

4 Biog. Brit. This Acca was interred in Hexham Church, where one stone 
cross was placed at his head and another at his feet. When, three hundred years 
afterwards, his tomb was opened, his burial-clothes were found in a state of entire 
preservation, and a wooden tablet, of the form of an altar, was discovered, which 
had been placed on the breast of the deceased prelate. It was joined with silver 
nails, and bore an inscription. Such was the mode of interment in those daya 
used for a bishop among the Angles. 



ETHELDREDA. 269 

Bishop Wilfred, appealed to by Egfrid on the subject of Etheldreda's 
vow, did not feel at liberty to decline the commission intrusted to him of 
interfering in this matter, and accordingly addressed himself to the Queen 
on the subject of her husband's wish. Etheldreda now plainly perceived 
that the only method of enabling her to keep her resolution, was to en- 
deavour to induce Egfrid to live in a state of separation from her ; Wilfred 
represented, accordingly, to the king that it was the desire of his wife to 
enter into the seclusion of a monastery. The prelate's entreaties and the 
importunity of Etheldreda herself at last extorted from the King a con- 
sent that she should depart from the court of Northumberland, ' and 
follow her wish in this respect also. Having succeeded in gaining the 
consent of the King, Etheldreda took an important step, in which she 
was advised by Wilfred; she repaired to the Monastery of Coldingham, 
beyond Berwick, of which Ebba, " the King's aunt," was Abbess, and 
there professed herself a nun. 2 She received the veil from the hands of 
Wilfred himself, and on the occasion expressed her joy by remarking 
"that she never thought herself a Queen till she was professed, and thus 
solemnly contracted to the King of Heaven." s 

Etheldreda remained for some time under the protection of the Abbess 
Ebba ; but at the end of a year from the time of her profession, Wilfred 
informed the royal nun that Egfrid had formed a design, either by per- 
suasion or compulsion, to make her return to his court. To avoid this 
alternative, Etheldreda quitted the convent and fled to the kingdom of 
East Anglia, for greater safety. She was accompanied in her journey by 
two maidens, and the monkish Chronicles inform us that at every place 
where they rested on their way thither, " our Lord showed them mira- 
cles." 4 It is supposed that Ovin, an old and faithful steward of the 
Queen, attended their flight. 

Adulph, who is sometimes called the " natural brother of Etheldreda," 
received the fugitives; and in due course of time, Etheldreda, assisted by 
him, erected on her own estate, the Isle of Ely, a double monastery. 5 
This edifice was founded in A. D. 672. 6 As soon as it was completed, 
Etheldreda assumed the government. Wilfred himself attended in person 
at Ely, to assist at the ceremony of the Queen's election as abbess. 

This prelate had, as it is natural to imagine, incurred the severe anger 
of Egfrid, nor was that anger appeased even after he had taken another 
wife. The new Queen was Ermenburge, sister-in-law to the King of 

1 Bede, Milton, Lives of the Saints. 2 Holinshed. 

3 Butler. * Lives of the Saints. s Canwod Abbey. — Bradshawe. 

6 To this period may perhaps be ascribed the foundation of a structure by 
Etheldreda in the locality now known as Ely Place, Holborn. The work of that 
Queen has long since fallen to decay ; but Shakspeare, on the authority of Hol- 
inshed, informs us that the Bishop of Ely dwelt at a palace in what is now called 
Ely Place — which residence was noted by some of our writers for its strawberry 
gardeus, vineyards, and meadows. On the spot where Queen Etheldreda's foun- 
dation existed, was erected, in 1320, the antique chapel bearing her name, of 
which Newcourt, in his "Repertorium Londinense," written in 1700, says, "is, 
to this day, a very fair, large, old chapel." 

23* 



270 ERMENBURGE. 

Wessex, 1 who, unwilling to encourage so great a power as that possessed 
by Wilfred in the kingdom, irritated the King still more against him ; 
and her mortification at the freedom of the bishop's strictures on the vio- 
lence of character, soon led to open hostilities between them. 

Ermenburge 2 now employed every means to ruin Wilfred in the King's 
opinion, and her task was the less difficult as Egfrid was already so much 
incensed. She gained also an ally in Theodore, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, who was induced to assist her views, owing to misrepresentations, 
of which he afterwards became aware 5 for the present, however, he only 
listened to the grievances brought forward by the Queen, and was pre- 
vailed on to depose Wilfred from his dignity, after he had spent ten years 
in endeavouring to establish the monastery of which he was the support. 
Richard, Prior of Hexham, speaking of Ermenburge, says : " In her 
heart Satan stirring up the seeds of hatred against the said bishop, by 
her tongue incited the King's mind to expel the priest;" and it appears 
that the Queen was the more displeased, because Hexham, part of Ethel- 
dreda's dowry received from Egfrid, had been bestowed on that prelate. 
It is plain that all parties, Queen as well as bishops, had an interested 
motive for the disgrace of Wilfred. 

Accordingly Theodore parcelled out his great diocese, consecrating Bosa 
to the see of York, for the Deiri ; Eata to that of Lindisfarne, for Ber- 
nicia ; and Eadhead to the church of Lindissi, or great part of Lincoln- 
shire, which Egfrid had won from Mercia. This great division of Wilfred's 
bishopric took place A. D. 678. Wilfred on this appealed to the Pope. 
He raised no clamour, for he dreaded either disturbances or schism, but 
was sufficiently well acquainted with the canons to perceive the irregularity 
and nullity of many steps taken against him. He accordingly embarked 
for Rome, where having pleaded his own cause, he returned to England, 
and repairing to the presence of Egfrid, handed to him the sealed decrees 
of the Pope. That prince, having first caused them to be read by the 
prelates of his own faction, who were at that time present in the apart- 
ment, declared that they had been obtained by bribery, and commanded 
that Wilfred should be committed to prison. The order was obeyed, and 
during the space of nine months Wilfred was subjected to the most rigorous 
treatment. It is said, everything but the clothes which he wore was 
taken from him, and all his adherents were dispersed in different direc- 
tions. Queen Ermenburge herself took possession of his case of relics, 
which she hung up in her chamber, and carried about with her in her 
chariot wherever she went, making an outward display of piety but little 
in accordance with her conduct. 

The following curious account of a lady's carriage exists in an Anglo- 
Saxon MS. in the Harleian library. It represents the carriage of a lady 
of rank, of a rather later period than that of Ermenburge : " it has 
uprights fixed before and behind, with a body, shaped like a hammock, 
suspended between ; the whole, and in particular the spokes of the wheels, 
are painted with various colours. The lady to whom the gay vehicle 
belongs, wears on her head a double veil, and has a perforated mantle 

' Eddius. a Lingard. 



ERMENBURGE. 



271 



over the shoulders ; her upper gown, which scarcely descends below the 
knees, is embellished with a border of needlework edged with beads. The 
sleeves descend only as far as the elbows, and are of considerable width, 
in shape resembling those now most fashionable. Beneath is worn an 
under garment, with long tight sleeves, reaching to the ground, so as 
almost to cover the feet." ' 

Wilfred's composure of mind is said to have been so great under his 
reverses, that his guards overheard him singing psalms in his dungeon : a 
bright light also is said "to have issued from that dark chamber, which 
alarmed his guards, and Wilfred having performed an extraordinary cure 
on the sick wife of their governor, that person refused any longer to guard 
him ; so that the King, for safety, removed him to another prison." 2 

At length Ermenburge was seized with a dangerous illness while staying 
at the Monastery of Ebba. The King's aunt was struck with the belief 
that her malady was caused by the indignation of Heaven for her conduct 
towards Wilfred ; a notion fostered by the abbess, on whose remonstrances 
at her injustice to that excellent prelate, Wilfred was set at liberty, his 
relics restored, and his companions sent back to him, on condition, how- 
ever, that the bishop should never more set foot within the territories of 
Egfrid. He accordingly retired from Northumberland, and solicited the 
protection of Brithwald, nephew to the King of Mercia, who granted to 
him land, on which he built a monastery. Egfrid's emissaries, however, 
discovered his retreat, and the Mercian was alarmed by his threats ; so 
that Wilfred, unwilling to endanger his friend's safety, quitted his place 
of refuge, and fled into Wessex. 3 But Wilfred's trials were not yet over; 
for Irmenigild, sister of his persecutress, was Queen of Wessex, and, 
influenced by Ermenburge, so harassed the prelate that he was glad to 
avail himself of the invitation of Ethelwald, King of Sussex, to reside 
in his dominions. One prince had remained his firm friend throughout, 
namely, Alfred, illegitimate brother of Egfrid. When, therefore, in 685, 
Egfrid was slain, Ermenburge's influence expired with him ; as Egfrid 
had no issue, Alfred became his brother's successor on the throne, and 
Wilfred was immediately reinstated in all his honours at Hexham, and 
appointed to the see of York and monastery of Ripon. 

For this the prelate was in a great degree indebted to Theodore, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, his former persecutor, then arrived at an advanced 
age, and subject to frequent fits of sickness. The Archbishop sent to Wil- 
fred, and desired him to meet him at London with St. Erkenwald, bishop 
of that city, brother of Etheldreda. In their interview he confessed all 
the actions of his past life, and observed, " the greatest remorse I feel is, 
that I consented with the King to deprive you of your possessions, with- 
out any fault committed on your part." He then earnestly entreated that 
he might be permitted to make all the restitution that was left in his 
power. Accordingly he wrote letters to King Alfred, to Ethelred, King 
of Mercia, and to Elfleda, Abbess of Whitby and others, and thus made 
ample amends to Wilfred for his ancient hostility. 

Queen P>menburge, not long after her husband's death, A. r>. 685 

' Smith and Merrick. a Butler's Lives. 3 Lingard. 



272 SEXBUKGA. 

assumed the religious habit in the monastery of her sister, at Carlisle, 
founded A. D. 686. 

The Farn island, 1 the largest of the group, and the nearest to the 
mainland, is celebrated for having been the residence of St. Cuthbert 
during nine years. " In that spot he devoted himself to prayer and 
fasting, after having borne the charge of the priorate of Lindisfarne, and 
thither numbers came to be edified." 

The island on which he dwelt is about eleven acres in extent, and the 
basaltic rocks with which it is bordered rise abruptly, on the south-west 
side, to a height of about eighty feet above the sea : the north is entirely 
exposed to the winds and waves. The site of the buildings erected by 
the holy recluse has been ascertained, consisting of his oratory, cell, hos- 
pitium, and fountain ; and the chapel, which had fallen into decay, was 
restored and roofed by Archdeacon Thorpe. 

It is recorded that "when the coffin of St. Cuthbert was brought by 
the monks of Lindisfarne to the spot where the city of Durham is now 
built, no power could move it thence." The monastery was, therefore, 
of course, erected there. 

Sexburga, after the death of Ercombert, had departed from England 
and repaired to France, accompanied by her unmarried sister Ethelburga, 
and her youngest daughter Ercongeca. Her eldest daughter, Ermenilda, 
had been previously married to Wulphere, King of Mercia. Her sons 
were Egbert and Lothair, of whom, hereafter, mention will be made. 2 

Sexburga, her daughter and sister, all received the religious veil in 
France. At this time there were very few conventual establishments in 
Britain, and it was customary with the Anglo-Saxon princes and nobles 
to send their children into France to be educated in the monasteries there. 
The most celebrated of these establishments, which were really schools 
for education, and noted for resort by the English, were Faremoutiers, 
Briege, Andelie, and Chelles. Etheldreda, at some period of her life, is 
said to have resided at Faremoutiers : 3 perhaps it might have been while 
waiting for the completion of her edifice at Ely. 

At the time the royal princesses of England arrived, Hildelitha was 
Abbess of Faremoutiers. Ethelburga joined her pious flock, but was at 
a subsequent period recalled to her native country to assume the govern- 
ment of the celebrated Abbey of Barking, which had been built for her 
reception by her brother Erkenwald, Bishop of London, a princely pre- 
late, whose virtues afterwards caused his relics to be worshipped in a 
famous shrine dedicated to him in St. Paul's church. 

1 Fame, is a corruption of the Celtic word fahren, a recess. Holy Island was 
called Lindisfarne, from the Lindis, a rivulet which empties itself into the sea 
from the opposite shore. 

a Dugdale. 

3 St. Fara was the name of the foundress of the Monastery of Faremoutiers, 
and is supposed to have been the first abbess. Hildelitha, who afterwards pre- 
sided there, returned to England to assist Ethelburga in the management of 
Barking Abbey. St. §ethrid, the daughter of Hereswyda, afterwards held the 
government of Faremoutiers, prior to her union with King Anna. Etheldreda is 
esteemed third Abbess of Faremoutiers. According to Holinshed, both Sethrid 
and Ethelburga became Abbesses of Briege. — See ante, p. 266, note. 



SEXBURGA. 273 

Ercongeca made her profession either in Briege or Chelles; it is not 
known to which place Sexburga retired, though she seems to have spent 
the six following years in France. Sexburga, even during her husband's 
lifetime, had earnestly desired to devote herself exclusively to the service 
of God, in a state of religious seclusion ; and in order that others, at 
least, might be enabled to attend on the divine service night and day 
without impediment, she had commenced erecting a nunnery in the isle 
of Sbeppey, on the coast of Kent, having obtained a grant of land for 
that purpose. Some say that this was given by her son Egbert, who 
succeeded his father on the throne, but the building appears to have been 
commenced during the lifetime of Ercombert, 1 though not formed into 
a community till A. D. 664. 2 

The establishment consisted of seventy-four nuns in all, who were as- 
sembled there by the widowed Queen, who had either taken on herself 
previously the monastic vows and veil, or did so at this time, when in 
her own person she assumed the government of the monastery. 

The ruins of this little edifice, called Minstre, in the isle of Sheppey, 
have survived the lapse of ages to commemorate their royal foundress. 
The buildings attached to the monastery were some twenty miles in com- 
pass. The original edifice was destroyed by the Danes, but rebuilt in 
1130, and consecrated by William, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the 
honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Sexburga : it subsisted in 
the hands of Benedictine nuns till the dissolution of abbeys, at which 
time the "building of Minstre 3 was valued at the annual sum of 129/. 
7s. 10±d. ) some part of it is now converted into a parish church, in 
which are divers funeral monuments, supposed to have been removed out 
of the adjoining chapel, some of which make a show of wondrous great 
antiquity." 

It is said, that a desire still further to seclude herself from the world 
afterwards induced Sexburga to seek the solitude of Ely, and to this may 
be added a wish to dwell under the same roof as Etheldreda, her much- 
loved sister, who had obtained even then an extraordinary reputation for 
sanctity. It would appear that this arrangement was made by Sexburga 
at the period of Wulphere's death, who had succeeded Penda on the 
throne of Mercia, and who, during the life-time of Ercombert, had 
espoused her daughter Ermenilda, 4 Princess-Royal of the house of Kent. 

Wulphere had heard of the virtues and piety of Sexburga's daughter 
with admiration, 5 and professing himself a Christian, undertook, at the 
time of his union with her, to extirpate the remnants of paganism from 

1 Dugdale says the edifice was completed in G75. Weever gives as the date 710 
(an obvious error). Dugdale numbers the nuns at seventy-seven. 

2 Weever. 3 Ibid. 

4 She (Ermenilda) was heiress-apparent to the dignity of her father's kingdom. 
— Bromton. 

During her government of the Monastery of Minster, Sexburga's mind had to 
sustain a severe shock in the criminal conduct of her son, King Egbert, who was 
under the necessity of paying the weregild, or fine, imposed on a muruerer by 
the Saxon laws. 

6 William of Malmesbury, Butler. 



274 EHMENILDA. 

Mercia, 1 where the Christian faith had been already introduced by his 
deceased brother Peada. Worldly motives delayed the performance of 
this promise, and " the humble and patient" Ermenilda strove in the 
interval to soften the fierce temper of her warlike husband. She edu- 
cated her family in the pure principles of the Christian faith, and daily 
performed with her only daughter Werburga, the whole of the church 
service. " This young princess, early distinguished for surpassing piety, 
was wont to spend many hours daily on her knees in private prayer; she 
also observed with diligence the fasts enjoined by the religion she pro- 
fessed." 

The sons of Ermenilda were Wulphade, Rutin, and Kenred, who emu- 
lated their mother's example of virtue and goodness. These Princes 
were taught in the faith of Christ by St. Chad, who also baptized them. 
This prelate was Bishop of Litchfield, and had a cell or hermitage in a 
forest, to which the young Princes were at times accustomed to resort for 
instruction. The ill-fated youths were, however, destined to come to an 
untimely end. The circumstances which led to their sad fate were these : 
Werbode was a knight of Wulphere's court, very powerful, and his 
influence was great over the mind of Wulphere, to whom he had ren- 
dered great services in arms; so that he readily obtained his promise to 
give him the beautiful Princess Werburga, his daughter, provided her 
own consent could be obtained. The news of Wulphere's promise much 
grieved the Queen and her sons, who all confirmed Werburga in her re- 
fusal of his suit, more particularly Ermenilda; for Werbode was a pagan, 
and had induced Wulphere to waver in his intentions regarding the true 
faith, and at length to renounce it and follow the worship of idols. 
When the knight found that these young Princes stood in his way to 
Werburga's favour, he resolved on their death. An opportunity soon 
offered. He discovered that the royal youths visited St. Chad 2 at times, 
under pretence of hunting; and contrived that Wulphere should be sta- 
tioned in a place where he could see his sons pass on one of these occa- 
sions, having previously informed him of their secret religious object. 
The King's passion at beholding them on such a mission was so furious, 
that he gave an order for their execution ; but no sooner was the cruel 
deed perpetrated, than he was filled with remorse and penitence, and 
though too late to redeem the loss of his children, threw himself on the 
pity and devotion of the Queen and St. Chad, and having entered into 
commune with himself, became a convert to the Christian doctrine, abo- 

1 " There still remained, in the kingdom of Mercia, an excessive and inveterate 
Pagan barbarism. But Queen Ermenilda, the handmaid of God, having been 
instructed by her parents in the apostolic alphabet of the first teacher, St. Au- 
gustine, by her sweetness, by her soothing exhortations, by her manners and 
benefits, softened their untamed dispositions, and exhorted them to the sweet 
yoke of Christ and the rewards of everlasting blessedness; while the perverse 
and most rebellious she repressed by her power : nor did she rest until she extir- 
pated the idols and demoniacal rites, and filled the kingdom of the Mercians with 
churches and priests." — Bromton's Chronicle. 

2 "Chad travelled about, not on horseback, but, after the manner of the Apos- 
tles, on foot, to preach the Gospel in towns, the open country, cottages, villages, 
and castles." — Bede. 



ETIIELDREDA. 275 

lishcd heathenism in Mercia, and hy his endeavors and example, propa- 
gated the Christian faith. The bodies of Wulfade and Rufin were 
placed by the Queen in a sepulchre of stone, and over the spot where 
they were interred this afflicted mother and her penitent husband founded 
the" Priory of Stone. 1 Wulphere afterwards founded Peterborough Ca- 
thedral. 

The beautiful "Werburga had resolved to devote her life to the service 
of God, and had refused on that account many suitors for her hand, 
amongst whom was the Prince of Wessex, who waited upon her with rich 
presents, to receive the same answer as other aspirants. 

Upon the change which took place in the religious views of the King, 
Werburga no longer dreaded his resentment, and ventured to disclose to 
her father her intention of embracing the religious profession. To this 
Wulphere was averse, and testified much grief; but so earnest were the 
supplications of the Princess, that he at length yielded to her wish. 

" Wulphere, in person, conducted his beloved child to Ely in great 
state, accompanied by his whole court. On their arrival there, they were 
met at the gate of the monastery by the royal abbess, St. Etheldreda, with 
the whole of her religious family in procession, singing holy hymns. 
Werburga, falling on her knees, then begged to be admitted as a peni- 
tent. She obtained her request, and Te Deum was sung, after which she 
went through the usual trials with great humility and patience, exchang- 
ing with joy her rich coronet, purple silks, and gold, for a poor veil and a 
coarse habit, and resigned herself into the hands of her superior, to live 
only to Christ. King Wulphere, his three brothers, and Egbert or Eg- 
bright, the Kentish King, Adulph, King of East Anglia, and the great 
lords of those respective states, were all present at the solemn ceremony, 
being entertained by the Mercian King with a truly regal magnificence." 2 

Meanwhile Etheldreda, as Abbess of Ely, afforded the holy sisterhood 
over whom she presided, a constant example of Christian perfection. She 
was very strict in the duties of her religion, eating only once a day, ex- 
cept on great festivals or in times of sickness. " She would rarely wash 
in a hot bath, unless just before any of the great festivals, as Easter, 
Whitsuntide, and the Epiphany; and then she did it last of all, after 
having, with the assistance of those about her, first washed the other ser- 
vants of God then present." 3 She was in the habit of wearing woollen 
clothes, never making use of linen ; and it was her custom never to 
return to bed after matins, which were sung at midnight, but to continue 
in the church at her devotions until morning. She seems to have rejoiced 
in pains and humiliations. The physician. Cynefrid, who attended her in 
her last illness, and was present at her death, relates that she had a very 
great swelling under her jaw, which he was ordered to lay open. This ope- 
ration performed, she was more easy for two days, so that many thought 
she might recover. At the time she had suffered most pain, she had been 
much pleased with that sort of distemper, and said: "I know that I de- 
servedly bear the weight of my sickness on my neck ; for I remember, 

1 In Staffordshire. — Stowe, Leycester, Butler. 

3 Butler. a Bede. 



276 ETHELDREDA — SEXBURGA. 

when I was very young, I bore there the needless weight of jewels ; and 
therefore I believe the Divine Goodness would have me endure the paiu 
in my neck, that I may be absolved from the guilt of my needless levity, 
having now, instead of gold and precious stones, a red swelling and burn- 
ing on my neck." The third day after the incision made by her physi- 
cian, " the former pains returning, she was soon snatched out of the world, 
and exchanged all pain and death for everlasting life and health." ' 

Etheldreda had fulfilled her duties as abbess for seven years, and she 
was deeply mourned by her little flock, who were sincerely attached to 
her for her many virtues and goodness. 2 The 23d of June, the anniver- 
sary of her death, which took place A. D. 679, has ever since been 
esteemed her festival day, in which the honours of a saint are accorded 
to her, and her name may still be seen in English prayer-books as St. 
Audry. "At a fair held on the causey, in the isle of Ely, which is called 
St. Audry, much ordinary but showy lace was usually sold, whence St. 
Audry's lace became quite proverbial, and passed into the corruption of 
Tawdry, a word used to denote not lace only, but any other part of the 
female costume which was gaudy in appearance. 3 A certain chain also, 
made of fine small silk, bears the name of St. Etheldred's Chain, per- 
haps in allusion to the necklaces worn by the Queen, when a child, at 
the East Anglian court. The Saxon women had several ornaments for 
the arms and neck, similar to that ascribed to Etheldreda, studded with 
brilliants, collars, earrings, and bracelets ; these a mother was permitted 
by law, at her death, to leave to her daughter ; and by the same legal 
authority had the right of conveying to her son, her land, slaves and 
money. 

Sexburga, after her sister's death, 4 presided as Abbess of Ely for 
twenty years, with great advantage to the convent and neighbourhood. 
In her time the structure of that venerable building, of which the ruins 
alone at present afford a noble specimen of Saxon architecture, was com- 
pleted. As soon as the building was in a fit condition, Sexburga removed 
the holy remains of the Abbess into it. By the particular desire of the 
Abbess-Queen, her body had been placed in a coffin of wood ; from this 
her humility is plainly to be discovered, for persons of consequence in her 
days alone were interred in stone coffins. Queen Sexburga, her sister, 
performed the interesting task of translating her relics, in 694, in the 
sixteenth year of her own government at Ely. Bromton, in his 
Chronicle, tells us that St. Sexburga, " inflamed by a divine zeal, pre- 
pared to have her venerable bones transferred to the church ; and not 
having a stone suitable for concealing so heavenly a treasure, of her kind- 
ness appointed certain persons to seek a stone of the kind, and having 
found one, to bring it by ship to the Monastery of Ely ; for the isle of 

1 Bede. a Fuller's Church History of Britain. 3 Clavis Calendaria. 

4 Drayton writes thus of her : — 

" Sexburg, some time queen to Ercombert of Kent, 
Tho' Ina's loved child, and Audrey's sister known, 
Which Ely in those days did for her Abbess own." 

Poly Olbion. 



SEXBURGA. 277 

Ely is, by the nature of the place, entirely surrounded by waters and 
marshes, 'whence it is destitute of stones of the sort. 1 They applied to a 
small town at no great distance, named Grantchester, 2 which was at that 
time much reduced, and but scantily inhabited; by the well of which 
they found, as it were prepared by Providence, a stone exactly suited for 
the sepulchre, wherein, afterwards, a certain grace of the Divine opera- 
tion was very remarkable, since it appeared that the quantity of the stone 
thus providentially found was, as if purposely, exactly that required by 
the dimension of the virgin's body. They found, also, a lid very like a 
sarcophagus, likewise of the appearance of marble, and of the proper 
size and evenness, and without any incongruity or dissimilarity of the 
parts." 

Having fulfilled this purpose, they returned without meeting any ob- 
stacle. " Whereon Sexburga, rejoicing in the benefit of the divine gift, 
blessed God, who doeth wonderful things. Now when the day deter- 
mined upon for transferring the body of the holy virgin from a wooden 
coffin to the stone mausoleum arrived, on opening the previous coffin, the 
venerable body was found entire, without any sign of corruption, as 
though it had been recently buried on the same day. The blessed 
Wilfred, Archbishop of York, was present at this spectacle. There was 
also, for the greater evidence and certainty of the truth, the aforesaid 
physician, Kiuefrid, who had been present at her death, and had opened 
the tumour of which she died. lie, recollecting the wound which he 
had formerly made on her body, approaching and carefully examining it, 
recognised it to be the same, wondering at the marvellously curative 
power of God on the dead; for there remained of the scar only the slight- 
est mark, the size of a thread, and that becomingly surrounded and con- 
cealed with what might be the shadow of a butterfly. The brethren stood 
on one side, and the sisters on the other, blessing God with hymns and 
praises ; while St. Sexburga entered with a few, religiously and devoutly 
to wash the remains of her sister, and after a short space called out from 
within : 'Glory be to the name of the most high God/ And that what 
was done might be with the approbation and in the presence of witnesses, 
she summoned certain who were more worthy of participating in so great 
secrets, who, on the removal of the pall and the exposure of the counte- 
nance, beheld the body of the virgin undecomposed, and more like one 
sleeping than dead. At length, having carefully wrapped the body in 
precious vestments suitable to preserve so great a treasure, with a great 
and manifold chorus of exultation, they carry it to the church, and place 
it in a new sarcophagus with honour." 3 

Many miracles are said to have been wrought afterwards, by the de- 

1 There were no quarries in Ely, but the brethren were sent by Sexburga into 
Cambridgeshire, to procure a stone coffin, which they were ordered to fashion 
with their owu hands. The stone they discovered was found to fit exactly the 
size of the virgin abbess' body, having in it a hollow place, equally adapted to 
the size of the head. The coffin found for Etheldreda was a relic of ancient Ro- 
man art : it was a white marble coffin, most beautifully wrought. — Polwhele Bede 

3 Near Cambridge. 

3 Chron. Bromton, Reg. Northumb., Bede. 
24 



278 ERMENILDA. 

vout application of the relics of St. Etheldreda, and of the linen cloths 
taken off her coffin.' 

The venerable Bede has written a Latin poem 2 on the discovery of the 
relics of St. Etheldreda, which is a curious specimen of the literary com- 
position of the times in which he lived. 

It is not quite certain whether Ermenilda retired to Sheppey during 
the life of Wulphere, and took her mother's government of the monastery 
, there; or whether she deferred entering on a religious life till the death 
of her consort, which took place in 675. Wulphere was interred at 
Litchfield, 8 and as his only surviving son, Kenred, was still too young to 
govern, he left the crown to his own brother Ethelred. 

One of our early chroniclers writes thus of the royal widow : " Upon 
the famous King Wulphure, therefore, after a reign of seventeen years, 
passing to the eternal kingdom, although his pious wife Ermenilda be- 
wailed her social calamity, nevertheless, with her whole soul wounded in 
love, she exulted in the liberty of Christ. She forthwith betook her- 
self to the most excellent Monastery of Ely, where her parent Sexburga, 
daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, and sister of St. Etheldred, 
among bands of virgins, was shining as the moon among stars, and where 
her daughter Werberga humbly served God in virgin integrity. Here, 
therefore, this Ermenilda laid aside all earthly hope and regal ornaments, 
and put on the yoke and armour of Christ, with the religious habit of 
the monastics." As Abbess of the Monastery, after Sexburga's death, 
Drayton writes of her thus : — 

" King Wulphere's widowed pheere, Queen Ermineld, whose life 
At Ely is renowned ;" 

while Bradshawe, in even more courtly language, styles her "a noble 
Margaryte of high magnificence," and a " rose of paradise full of pre- 
eminence." 4 

Sexburga departed this life on the 6th of July, 699, at an advanced 
age. Her remains were deposited near those of her sister, in the Ca- 
thedral Church of Ely, 5 though some have thought her interment took 
place at Canterbury, where her husband, King Ercombert, lies entombed. 

Ermenilda was third Abbess of Ely, but could not have become so till 
twenty-four years after her husband Wulphere's death, when she must 
have been very aged. This venerable Princess is compared, by Drayton, 
to her cousin Ermenburga, wife of Merowald, Wulphere's brother, in the 
following stanzas : — 

" Two holy Mercian queens so widowed, saints became ; 
For sanctity much like, not much unlike in name." 

Ermenilda passed to the heavenly kingdom in the month of February, 
A D. , 6 when her remains were interred with those of her mother 

* Butler. Bede relates this account in the words of Kinefrid, the physician. 
a Eccles. Hist,, lib. iv., c. 20. 

3 The word "Litchfield" means, in the Saxon, "Field of the Dead." — Dr. 
Johnson. 

4 Life of St. Wereburga. s Millar. 

« February 13th, on which day, after death, she was honoured among the 
English female saints. 



ERMENILDA. 279 

and aunt, and, as Bromton expressed it, " having been tossed, she rested 
in the Lord." 

Werburga, her successor, the fourth Abbess of Ely, was induced by 
the persuasions of her uncle, King Ethelred of Mercia, to quit that 
establishment for the purpose of undertaking the general charge of the 
religious foundations throughout Mercia, in which he desired to establish 
a strictly monastic discipline. Through the liberality of Ethelred, the 
Abbess Werburga founded several monasteries : those of Trentham and 
Hanbury, in Staffordshire, and another at Weedon, a royal palace of Nor- 
thamptonshire. 1 She herself resided at Hearburg, near Stamford, or at 
Croyland. At the time she died, Werburga was at Trentham ; but by 
her own express wish, her remains were conveyed to Hanbury for inter- 
ment. The author of her Life assures us that her relics were venerated 
at Croyland till the ninth century, when they were removed to Leicester. 

In 708, nine years after the death of Werburga, her body was taken 
up, in presence of King Ceolred, his council, and many bishops, when it 
was found incorrupt and entire, and placed in a costly shrine. In the 
reign of King Alfred, the shrine of St. Werburga, for fear of the Danes, 
was carried to West Chester; and the valiant Ethelred, Earl of Mercia, 
who had married the daughter of that monarch, built and endowed with 
secular canonries a stately church, as repository for these holy relics, 
which afterwards became the cathedral. The body of the saint fell to 
dust, soon after its translation to West Chester. 

St. Werburga is considered the especial patroness of the city of Ches- 
ter: and Malmesbury tells us that "the praises and miracles of these 
two women (Ermenilda and Werburga), and particularly of the younger, 
are there extolled and had in veneration ; and though they are favourable 
to all petitions without delay, yet they are more especially kind and as- 
sistant to the supplications of women and youth." He speaks of a cir- 
cumstance which occurred in his own time. " This St. Werburga lies at 
Chester, in the monastery of that city, which Hugo, Earl of Chester, 
ejecting a few canons, who resided there in a mean and irregular manner, 
has recently erected." 

The relics of Werburga being scattered in the reign of Henry VIII., 
her shrine was converted into the episcopal throne in the same church, 
and remains in that condition to this day, being "one of the most re- 
markable monuments in the county of Cheshire, and a rich specimen of 
Gothic architecture in the early part of the fourteenth century. This 
monument itself is composed of stone, ten feet high, embellished with thirty 
curious pieces of antique images of Kings of Mercia, and other princes 
related to this saint, the names of whom were inscribed upon scrolls held 
in their bands. These figures, having been much mutilated, either at the 
Reformation or during the civil war, were restored, but in a bungling 
manner, about the year 1708. 2 " 

1 Weedon, once the royal site of Wulphere's palace, was afterwards converted 
into a nunnery, at the entreaty of Werburga, who presided over it. The Danes 
destroyed the edifice : but Werburga's memory was preserved by a fair chapel 
there, dedicated to her sainted memory. — Green's Worcester, Pennant. 

* Lysons's Mag. Britannia; Willis's Abbeys ; Butler. 



280 ETHELDREDA. 

Some further account is here necessary of the Cathedral Church of 
Ely. Many abbesses in succession followed Werburga in the establish- 
ment there, whose names, however, are not on record till a. d. 870, when 
the monastery was ravaged by the Danes, and shortly after occupied by 
a college of secular priests. In the reign of King Edgar, the Abbey was 
refounded by Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, and the structure appro- 
priated to the use of monks only of the Benedictine order, though the 
dedication was made in the name of "the Blessed Virgin and St. 
Audry." 1 

The following is one of the narratives of the monks respecting the relics 
of their holy foundress : On a former occasion, the corpse of Etheldreda 
was seen through a hole which the Banes broke in her coffin : a priest, 
more forward than the rest, prying too busily, and. endeavouring to pull 
the envelope out by a cleft stick, the saint drew back the drapery so 
hastily, that she tript up his heels, and gave him such a fall as he never 
recovered, nor his senses, afterwards. Bishop Athelwold stopt up the 
hole, and substituted monks for the priests. Abbot Brithnoth transferred 
hither the body of Withburga, the foundress' sister ; and. when, after- 
wards, in the time of Abbot Richard, some doubts were entertained 
about the incorruptibility of the foundress, nobody presumed to examine 
her body, but they contented themselves with uncovering that of her 
sister, who was found to be in such good preservation, that she seemed 
more like a person asleep than dead : a silk cushion lay under her head ; 
her veil and vestments all seemed as good as new, her complexion clear 
and rosy, her teeth white, and her lips somewhat shrunk. 2 

In 974, when the Monastery of East Dereham, in Norfolk, which King 
Anna had founded for his daughter Withburga, was destroyed by the 
Danes, the remains of that princess were translated to Ely, and interred 
with those of her sisters, Sexburga and Etheldreda. The regal remains 
of the three ladies, and of Ermenilda, were afterwards removed into the 
new church of Ely by Abbot Richard, — a solemn and imposing ceremony. 
Edgar Atheling, and some of the English nobles, having previously 
defended the isle of Ely against William the Conqueror, that warlike 
prince paid a visit to the convent, and made an offering at the altar of 
St. Etheldreda, 3 which is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Etheldreda. 

The foundation of the present Cathedral Church of Ely was laid in the 
reign of Henry the First, son of William ; and history, which gives us 
the accurate date of each portion of this interesting structure, assigns the 
latest part of the building to the year 1534. The removal of the choir, 
which took place in 1770, was a very great improvement. The original 
choir contained the relics and shrines of St. Etheldreda, Sexburga, Erme- 
nilda, and Withburga ; it was bounded by a stone screen, and niches 
s,till remain in the columns to mark the place whence it was removed. It 
is said that Bishop Mawson had agreed with an artist to fill the window 
of the choir with modern stained glass. The middle light of the five was 

' Millar's Cathedral of Ely. 

2 Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, from Malmesbury de Gestis. 

3 Dugdale. 



ETHELDREDA. 281 

to have contained a whole-length figure of St. Etheldreda, and hclnw it 
the royal arms: the others were likewise to have had their embellish- 
ments. This agreement was made not long before Bishop Mawson's 
death. He had advanced a considerable sum of money, and sufficiently 
provided by his will for the rest. The artist, however, was unable to 
fulfil his contract; a part had, however, been accomplished, and was put 
up. The heads of St. Paul and St. Etheldreda were completed, which are 
in two windows in a room at the Deanery. 

Later improvements, even in our own times, have been made in this 
noble edifice. A magnificent painted window was presented to it by the 
Rev. Bowyer Sparke, one of the canons of the church. It occupies the 
south-cast angle of the lantern, and is of noble dimensions, being forty 
feet in height. It is designed to commemorate the foundress, by repre- 
sentations of her marriage, and of her consecration as abbess ; whilst the 
four great lights of the window contain, under gorgeous canopies, the 
figures of Etheldreda as Queen, her father Anna, King of the East 
Angles, her first husband Thonbert, King of the Girvii, and her second 
husband Egfrid, King of Northumberland : in the second row, she ap- 
pears as Lady Abbess of Ely, with Wilfred, Archbishop of York, by 
whom she was consecrated, and her successors in the government of the 
monastery, Sexburga and Ermenilda. This great and beautiful work was 
completed by Mr. William Wailcs, of Newcastle, in little more than 
three months, at a cost of 600/. 1 

The lover of English anticpiities will linger with delight, to trace, in 
" that beautiful part of the building called the ' Octagon/ several of the 
most important historical passages in the life of the pious Etheldreda. 
These events are depicted upon small clusters of very slender columns, 
which connect the arches of this part of the building. Beginning at the 
right side of the north-west arch, the first of these represents her re- 
luctant marriage with Egfrid; the second, her taking the veil in the 
Monastery of Coldiugham ; the third, her pilgrim's staff taking root 
while she slept by the way, and bearing leaves and shoots; the fourth, 
her preservation, with her attendant virgins, on a rock surrounded by a 
miraculous inundation, when the King pursued her with his knights, to 
carry her off from her monastery; the fifth, her instalment as Abbess 

1 Millar's Cathedral of Ely. 

"The same liberal benefactor [Mr. William Wailes] proposes to present another 
painted window, by the same artist, to the south transept, and the church is like- 
wise indebted to him for originating, by a noble gift, the restoration of the south- 
west transept, which has added so greatly to the beauty of the cathedral. The 
design for the eight great windows at the east end of the choir, for filling which 
with painted glass, the late Bishop Sparke left £1500, is nearly completed. Mr. 
A. B. Hope has undertaken to restore one of the pinnacles of the east end of the 
church ; Lady Mildred Hope to restore the beautiful cross in the eastern gable, 
and the crocketting which leads up to it; and Mr. H. It. Evans, who has been so 
long and so honourably connected with the chapter, as steward of the manors, 
&c, has undertaken to defray the expense of opening and restoring the great 
lantern of the western tower, which is now concealed by a plaster vault to the 
floor of the bell-chamber, and of thus bringing into view the most beautiful sys- 
tem of Norman arcading which is to be found in any cathedral in this kingdom." 
— Bury P 

2-4* 



282 ETHELDREDA. 

of Ely; the sixth, her death and burial; the seventh, a legendary tale 
of one Brithstan, delivered from bonds by her merits, after she was 
canonized; the eighth, the translation of her body. 

" There yet exists in Ely Cathedral, a relic of very great antiquity ; it 
is the lower part of a stone cross with its square pedestal, found many 
years ago at Haddenhani, in the isle of Ely, and placed by Mr. Bentham, 
historian of the building, in the west end of the southern aisle, under an 
arch in the wall. The inscription on the pedestal is very legible. 

" This cross was erected to the memory of Ovin, the steward and minister 
of Queen Etheldreda, a monk of great merit, who had accompanied her 
from the province of the East Angles ; and the cross itself is supposed 
to be a work of the latter end of the seventh, or the very beginning of 
the eighth century." ' 

1 Description of Ely Cathedral ; Brit. Sancta. 



DOMNEVA. 

Lady Eva — Marriage with the son of Penda — The Queen takes the veil in her 
husband Merowald's life — She founds the Abbey of Minstre, to atone for the 
murder of her brothers by Egbert — " The Deer's course" — Pious ruse — Fate 
of Thunor the murderer — The humility of Mildred — Leobgitha's verses — Gold 
and silver ink— The Abbess Eadburga — The letters of St. Boniface to the pious 
Abbess — The Danes — Mildgitha retires to Estrey — Estrey Court — The sepul- 
chres of the murdered princes there — Mildburga and her father — Their tombs 
in the Abbey of Wenlock. 

Dompneva, or Domneva, appears to be a Roman abbreviation of Lady- 
Eva, or Domina Eva/ of which an instance occurs in the name of Julia 
Dornna, wife of Severus. Ermenburga, Eva, or Dompneva, are used in- 
discriminately for the Queen of Merowald, son of Penda, in our histories : 
as there is another Ermenburga, Queen of Egfrid, this abbreviation is 
adopted to distinguish her from others. Ermenred Clito, King of Kent, 
had by his wife Oslave, daughter of King Anna, another daughter besides 
Dompneva, who was called likewise Ermenburga, 2 and one called Eorrnen- 
githa, botb of wbom became nuns : his sons were called Ethelrcd and 
Ethelbright. 3 

Merowald, who was destined to marry Domneva, was King of Here- 
fordshire, or the West Hecanas, 4 over which he had reigned three years. 
Both this princess and her cousin Ermenilda seem to have been given by 
their parents in marriage to the Mercian princes, sons of Penda, in the 
hope of securing a friendship between that royal bouse and the East 
Anglian. 

At this period the kingdom of Kent had arrived at tbe bighest pinnacle 
of greatness : the glorious Ethelbert and his amiable consort bad trans- 
mitted their virtues to their descendants. The alliance of the royal family 
of Kent was sought with avidity by the other princes of the Heptarchy. 
It has been seen that the Princess Enfleda had married Oswy of North- 
umberland, and Etheldreda, the sister of Sexburga and Oslave, became 
the wife of Egfrid. Domneva and Ermenilda united the kingdoms of 
East Anglia, Kent, and Mercia. These matrimonial alliances are, in fact, 
a key by which alone tbe history of the Saxon Heptarchy can be pro- 
perly understood. 

In spite, however, of her marriage, and, it is said, by the consent of 

1 Written indiscriminately, Dumnona, Dompnena, Dormenilda, and Dorinen- 
gylda. 

2 Ebba or Eaba, Eva or Gaffe, as the name is spelt indifferently in the same 
Saxon manuscript; it is sometimes written Eadburge, Idaburga, and Elburg; St 
Ebba is also at times converted into St. Tabbs. — Butler. 

3 Speed, Rapin. * Lappenberg's Anglo-SaxoDS. 

(283) 



284 D M N E V A . 

her husband, Queen Domneva assumed the religious veil : ' it appears that 
she became Abbess of Minstre, in Thanet, about the year 670, King 
Merowald being yet upon the throne. The circumstances which occa- 
sioned the erection of this famous monastery are remarkable; and as 
Domneva was herself the foundress and first abbess, they belong especially 
to her history. 

The two brothers of Queen Domneva had been committed by their 
dying father, Ermenred, to the care of their uncle Ercombert, King of 
Kent, who, as long as he lived, fulfilled the sacred trust reposed in him 
with the honour which might have been expected from so excellent a 
prince; but when he died, his power, and with it the guardianship of 
the young Ethelred and Ethelbert, who were still in their minority, de- 
volved on his son Egbert, who regarded these princes, his cousins, as 
dangerous rivals to his power. He is accused of having employed a 
Thane, named Thunor, to put the orphans to death ; z and to prevent dis- 
covery of the crime, directed that their bodies should be interred beneath 
the royal throne in the palace of Estry, in Thanet, the place where they 
were usually residing under his protection. Heaven, however, would not 
permit such a crime to escape detection, nor suffer Egbert to pursue in 
security his guilty career. It is related that a miraculous light, falling 
on the spot where the bodies of the ill-fated brother's had been deposited 
by their murderer, revealed their holy relics; and the alarmed monarch 
was induced, by the united representations of St. Theodore, Archbishop 
of Canterbury, and St. Adrian, Abbot of St. Augustine's, whose councils 
were seconded by the clamours of the people, to send into Mercia to seek 
pardon of Domneva, Queen of Merowald, the sister of his victims, for 
the heinous crime he either perpetrated or permitted, and to offer to 
indemnify her for their loss by the usual Weregild, or compensation for 
murder. 3 

The custom of paying a blood-fine, called Weregild or Manbot, did not 
belong solely to the Saxons Compositions for murder existed among the 
Jews, and also the Greeks, as is apparent from Nestor's speech to 
Achilles, in the Iliad ; and even till a recent period among the natives of 
Ireland the same custom prevailed, the price of a man's head being 
termed by them his eric. 4 Spencer, in his "View of the State of Ire- 
land," writes thus of these cases of composition for murder : " The 
Brehon, that is, their judge, will compound between the murderer and 
the friends of the party murdered which prosecute the action, that the 
malefactor shall give to them, or to the child or wife of him that is slain, 
a recompense, which they call an Eriach ; by which vile law of theirs 
many murders amongst them are made up and smothered. And this 
judge being, as he is called, the Lord's Brehon, adjudgeth, for the most 
part, a better share unto his lord, or the head of that sept (or family), 
and also unto himself for his judgment, a greater portion, than unto the 
plaintiffs or parties grieved." 

On the arrival of Queen Domneva in Kent, Egbert appeared before 
her in a very sorrowful manner, imploring her pardon, and laying before 

1 Brit Sancta. a Sax. Chron., Sim. Dunelm. 

3 Butler. 4 Sir John Daviea. 



DOMNEVA. 285 

her a great many rich presents. The Queen generously pardoned her 
royal cousin, but declined accepting any of his offerings : her request to 
him was, that he would grant her a place " in Tenet," where she might 
build a monastery in memory of her two brothers, with a competent main- 
tenance, in which she might, with the virgins devoted to God and obliged 
to her, pray to the Lord to pardon and forgive the King for their murder. 
Egbert assenting, asked the Queen " how much land she desired to 
have?" who replied, "only as much as my deer can run over at one 
course." This being accorded, the animal was let loose at a place called 
Westgate, in presence of the King, and many of his nobles and people, 
who all crowded towards the spot where the deer was led in expectation 
of the event. Among the spectators was Thunor, the King's agent, and 
the real murderer of the Princes, who cried out that Domneva was a 
witch, and the King a fool for suffering so noble and fruitful a soil to be 
taken from him by the decision of a brute. Whilst the King and others 
around him were diverted with seeing the deer run, " this man endea- 
voured to put her by, with riding across and meeting her." While thus 
endeavouring to defeat the pious object of Domneva, the wrath of God 
fell on him j for, as some say, "the earth opened and swallowed him," 
or, as we may with greater credibility receive it, " a fall from his horse " 
occasioned his death; the spot being ever after called " Thunor's Leap," 
while the place where he was buried yet bears the name of this wretched 
man. At the sight of the signal judgment which had fallen on Thunor, 
the King is said to have " very much feared and trembled." ' 

Thunor's Leap was, according to Lewis, the old chalk-pit, which he 
supposes to have been first sunk when the Abbey and Church of Minstre 
were built, the bottom of which, in process of time, became overgrown 
with grass, when the crafty monks invented this fable to frighten the 
poor people of the neighbourhood. Immediately adjoining this spot for- 
merly stood a beacon, it being some of the highest land in that locality, 
and it was here that King Egbert had taken up his position, in order that 
he might be able to see the deer run almost all the way. 2 " The Leer's 
Course," as it is called by the monks, was nothing more than a lynch or 
balk, cast up as a boundary, to divide the two capital man ors of Minstre 
and Monkton, in the island, and very probably existed even before the 
former was granted to Domneva. 

" The tame deer of the Queen was to obtain for her royal mistress as 
much land as it could run over at a breath ; the favourite animal having 
finished her course, from one side of the island to the other, and run over 
in length and breadth forty-eight plough lands (or ten thousand acres), 
followed the Lady Domneva, while the King, on his part, returned thanks 
to Christ Jesus, and surrendered to his illustrious cousin the whole tract 
of land which the deer had run over; St. Theodore, the devout Adrian, 
and others who were present, hallowing the gift with their blessing." 3 
This donation Egbert afterwards confirmed to the ecclesiastical posterity 
of Domneva by charters, recorded in the book of St. Augustine's, 4 to the 
infringers of which he added a frightful curse. 

1 Chron. of Thorne. a Lewis. 3 Thome, Weever. 

4 Weever had himself seen these charters, as he assures us in his work 



286 DOMNEVA. 

Domneva accordingly founded her new minster, dedicating it to the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, and to the name and honour of her murdered 
brethren. 1 A difference of opinion exists as to the exact date of the foun- 
dation, some saying it was commenced in 664 and completed in 670, 
others that it was commenced only at the latter year. 2 It has again been 
doubted whether Queen Domneva herself ever ruled the establishment. 
Drayton says she passed the residue of her days — 

" Immonaster'd in Kent, where first she breathed the air;" 
yet we afterwards trace her as president of another religious community 
in Mercia. It is, however, highly probable that on the completion of the 
structure, Domneva superintended it until the arrival of her daughter, St. 
Mildred, who had been sent to France, to the Monastery of Chelles, for 
her education, that she might be fitly prepared to govern the edifice of her 
mother's foundation. 3 All things being made ready for her, Mildred was 
sent for, as the person most fit for the situation of abbess ; and on her 
arrival the Mercian Princess was consecrated to that holy office by Theo- 
dore, Archbishop of Canterbury, having previously taken the veil at the 
Monastery of Chelles. Seventy young women at the same time received 
the nun's veil, to form a community for their royal mistress, having been 
selected either from birth or merit. Among the number was Ermengitha, 
the aunt of Mildred, who was afterwards so much renowned for piety that 
her tomb, about a mile distant from the monastery, became a favourite 
resort for devout pilgrims. 4 

Mildred behaved with so much humility amongst her followers and 
pupils, as rather to make herself their servant than their mother and 
mistress ; for she desired more to be loved than to be feared ; and much 
more effectually brought her sisters on the way of religious perfection by 
her example than by her authority. 5 This abbess was celebrated as a 
saint after her death, and in her honour two parish churches in London 
were dedicated, St. Mildred's in the Poultry and St. Mildred's in Bread- 
street. According to Wilson's English Martyrology, St. Mildred died in 
674 ; but this is an error, for she was not till after that Abbess of Min- 
ster, and her name is to be found subscribed in the Council of Becken- 
ham, A. D. 694. 6 This great council was held by Withred, King of 

1 Butler, Weever. 

2 Dugdale, Thorne. Leland is wide of the mark in naming 596, and also Speed, 
who says Queen Ermenburga (or Dompneva) lived a. d. 590; these dates would, 
as Dugdale remarks, have been long before her time. 

3 The Church of Minster is the most ancient structure in the island of Thanet, 
and has three aisles ; in the choir are eighteen collegiate stalls ; on the floor of 
the church, and under the porch, are several large flat gravestones, of very great 
antiquity; on the top of the spire of the steeple was formerly a globe, above 
which rose a cross, covered with lead, and upon this a vane, surmounted by a 
cross of iron, emblem of the power and superiority of Christianity over the earth ; 
but these fancied monuments of idolatry were removed in the year 1647, by one 
Calmer, a rigid Calvinist, who had obtained the sequestration of the living by the 
refusal of Dr. Casaubon to take the covenant. — Dugdale. Minster was sometimes 
called St. Mildred's Monastery. — Weever. 

4 Lives of Saints. * Spelman. 
6 Hist, of me Church of Great Britain, 1674. 



D M N E V A . 287 

Kent, and Berthwald, Archbishop of Canterbury, and in it many things 
were concluded in favour of the Church. Five Kentish abbesses were 
present on the occasion, and not only subscribed their names and crosses 
to the constitutions concluded therein, but their subscriptions were placed 
not only before and above all presbyters, but also above that of Botred, 
a bishop present in the council. These abbesses' names are worthy of 
record; they were Mildred, Etheldreda, JEte, Wilnolde, and Hereswide. 

That writing was a female accomplishment in the Saxon times, appears 
from a letter to St. Boniface from Leobgitha, a nun of St. Mildred's 
Monastery under Eadburga, sister of Domneva, the Abbess who suc- 
ceeded Mildred. From Leobgitha's letter, it seems that it was customary 
for the nuns not only to read but to write Latin : she concludes her letter 
by saying, " Beneath are some verses which I have striven to compose 
according to the rules of poetic tradition, not with confident boldness 
offering them, but desiring to excite your superior mind, and ask your 
aid. This art I learned from the institution of Eadburga, who cease- 
lessly versifies the sacred law." The following is a translation of the 
lines in question by a modern author of talent :' — 

"Oh! may the Almighty, all-creating King, 
Who in his Father's kingdom shines in light 
Ineffable, to thee aye safety bring, 

And grant thee endless joys in glory bright." 

Golden ink was used by the Anglo-Saxons, and sometimes silver ink. 
Their red ink was made of vermillion or cinnabar; sometimes manu- 
scripts were written with purple ink, and capital letters with an ink com- 
posed of vermillion and gum. The black ink used by the Saxons in 
England during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, preserved its 
original blackness much better than that used in succeeding ages. 

Eadburga was abbess of St. Mildred's Minster from the death of that 
princess till the year 751; and to her many of the letters of Boniface 
are addressed. This venerable prelate, who was a native of Wessex, had 
been sent over as a missionary into Germany, to preach to the idolaters 
there ; Eadburga watched over him with a solicitude truly maternal, and 
the excellent Boniface exhibits in his correspondence with the royal 
abbess every token of esteem and respect. In one of his letters he styles 
her " the most honorable maiden, and most beloved Lady Eadburga, dis- 
tinguished for the wisdom of her monastic government." 2 In one of the 
earliest epistles, Boniface styles himself "an humble deacon," and soli- 
cits the lady-abbess to accept some cinnamon and frankincense, and a 
silver pen. 3 In the 28th of this collection of Boniface's letters, also 
addressed to Eadburga, the Bishop entreats her to write the Epistles of 
St. Peter in letters of gold, " to inspire carnal men with the greater re- 
spect to that apostle," whom he calls the patron of his mission. 

St. Eadburga built a new church in honor of St. Peter and St. Paul, 
and as soon as it was completed, caused the body of St. Mildred to be 
translated into it. 4 It was, together with that of Eadburga, in 1055, 

1 Miss Lawrence. See " Records of Women of England." 

1 Bonifacii Epist. " Lawrence's Hist, of Woman. 4 Butler, Brit. Sancta. 



L'88 DOMNEVA. 

translated to Canterbury, where they were deposited in St. Gregory's 
Church, by Archbishop Lanfranc. 1 

According to some writers, St. Mildred's Monastery was entirely de- 
stroyed'by the Danes in 978, but another account, given by Thorne, fixes 
its destruction in the year 1011, at the time of Sweyn's invasion. 

Mildgitha, the sister of Mildred, retired to the Monastery of Eastry, 
not far from Canterbury, which Egbert had himself built to atone for 
his crimes. 2 At a subsequent period Eastry, the manor of which Egbert 
had vested in the Church, was given to Christ Church, Canterbury, by 
Ethelred the Unready, for the support of the monks' kitchen. 3 An 
ancient tradition affirms, that the altar-tomb, placed at the east end of 
the little chapel which belonged to Eastry Court, was the sepulchre in 
which the bones of the two murdered brothers of Queen Domneva were 
enshrined, and over which a light constantly hovered. 

The three sisters, Mildred, Mildgitha, and Milburga, foundress of the 
Abbey of Wenlock, in Shropshire, were all canonized. 

The body of King Merowald, which had been enclosed in a wall of 
the church of the Abbey of Wenlock, was found at the same time as 
that of his daughter, Milburga. 4 Domneva, who is called " the virtuous 
mother of three virgin saints," had only one son by Merowald, who did 
not survive his infancy ; so that his crown devolved on his younger bro- 
ther Mercelyn, son of Penda, who likewise dying without issue male, the 
little kingdom of Herefordshire became re-united to the powerful territory 
of Mercia. 

Queen Domneva survived her husband many years, and is frequently 
mentioned by our historians. Besides the Monastery of Minster, this 
Queen was foundress of a nunnery at Ebbsfleet, in the isle of Thanet; 5 
but it was at Gloucester that she spent her remaining years after her 
widowhood. 

1 A deed of King Edward the Confessor, confirming certain privileges to the 
Church of St. Augustine, at Canterbury, runs thus : — 

" Wherefore, I, Edward, king, by the grace of the King of Kings, and prince 
of the Angles, after long banishment being returned to my kingdom, by the will 
of the only compassionating God, and sitting again on the throne of my fathers, 
do grant and decree that the church which King Ethelbert, at the advice of the 
blessed Augustine, founded in honour of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and en- 
riched with gifts, in which the bodies of the King himself, and of all the Bishops 
of Canterbury, and of the Kings, might be placed, be free, with all its append- 
ages and adjacencies ; seeing that, indeed, in the same church the above-named 
King lies buried, and the virgin Mildreth, beloved of God, rests, begotten of his 
stock. I also, being sprung of the same king's stock, and, by God's help, pos- 
sessed of his kingdom, do deliver up the isle of Thanet, which King Egbert 
granted, by hereditary right, to the venerable Queen Domneva (to the mother, to 
wit, of St. Mildreth, as much as a hind had gone over in its course, for the slay- 
ing of her two brothers, Ethelbred and Ethelbert, whom, by order of the same 
king, Thunur, hateful to God, struck down by an unjust death, whom forthwith 
celestial vengeance terribly followed by cutting him off." — Thome's Chronicle. 

3 Butler's Lives. 3 a. d. 979, Philipott. 

4 Philipps, Bromton, Drayton. s Speed, Tanner, Dugdale. 



ETHELBURGA AND FRIDOGITHA, 

QUEENS OF INA AND ETHELARD. 

Invasion of Ivor and Ina — Conditions of the Conquerors — Marriage of Ethelburga 
to Ivor — His death, and her marriage to his successor, Ina — The arch of Taun- 
ton Castle — Ealdbryht Clito besieged by Ethelburga — The " Western Key of 
the Kingdom" — The Laws of Ina — Guala — The learned men of Ina's time — 
The Abbey of Glastonbury, and its rich endowments — Ethelburga's pious pro- 
ject — The splendid banquet and the contrast — Its effect on the King — Dis- 
course of Ethelburga — The Crown resigned — Ethelard — Preparations for a pil- 
grimage to Rome — Departure of the King and Queen as pilgrims — Arrival in 
Rome — Religious acts — The Saxon school of Ina at Rome — Romescot — Return 
to England of the royal pair — Death of Ina — Ethelburga at Barking — Cuth- 
berga, Abbess of Wimbourne — Canonization of the Abbess-Queen — The three 
daughters of Ina — Fridogitha's liberality — Her piety and pilgrimage — Her 
death and canonization — St. Frideswide. 

Ethelburga, and her brother Ethelard, the husband of Fridogitha, 
were descended from Cerdic, founder of the "West Saxon monarchy. 
Their father was Ethelwald, son of Cenwalch, King of Wessex, by Sax- 
burga, sister of Penda. 

Two adventurous chieftains from Arinorica, Ivor and Ina, having en- 
tered into an alliance, 1 invaded the British coast with a fleet, and com- 
mitted great devastations, especially in Wessex, then governed by 
Kentwin, son of Kinegils. Ivor, who was son of Alan, King of Bre- 
tagne, having won from Kentwin Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset, was 
offered the peaceable enjoyment of the conquered territories, provided he 
would allow Kentwin to retain possession of the remainder of Wessex, 
and would marry Ethelburga, that prince's cousin. At the time this 
proposal was made, both armies were drawn up in each other's sight in 
hostile array : arms were, howevei', laid aside on Ivor's accepting the 
terms. Ethelburga accordingly became the wife of the chief, and Ivor 
succeeded the famous Cadwallader, called " the Blessed," who, after a 
life of warfare, ended his career as a pilgrim to the holy shrine, having 
named his relative Ivor as his heir, who accordingly took possession of 
"Wessex. On his death, in the year G90, both his kingdom and his 
widow were appropriated by Ina, his companion in arms. 

The circumstance of Ethelburga being the wife of both these princes, 
and the similarity of their names, has caused some confusion in the not 
a little entangled web of this portion of history, so conflicting are the 
narratives of the British chroniclers. 

As Ivor, however, disappears early, and Ina is a character of impor- 

1 Palgrave, Geoff, of Monmouth. 
25 T (289) 



290 ETHELBUROA. 

tance, it is sufficient to know that Ethelburga was his queen, of whom he 
appears to have been passionately fond. Nevertheless, a lady is men- 
tioned as his mistress, for whose abode he constructed a building over an 
arch within his castle of Taunton, in Somersetshire, — a fortress founded 
by him for his own residence, in the year 700, and for the purpose of 
securing his conquests against the disaffected nobles of the surrounding 
district. 1 This arch the Queen, jealous of her rival, is said to have de- 
stroyed after her husband's death, together with part of the castle, to be 
revenged upon her. The statement, however, is apparently erroneous. 2 

The remains of the ancient castle of Taunton, founded by King Ina, 
are on the west side of the town, and are thus described: 3 — "The old 
building, being one hundred and ninety-five feet in front, had a circular 
tower at each end, of which one only is now remaining. The other, 
with the west end, has been long since destroyed, and a large house built 
in its room, that has been for many years a boarding-school for young 
ladies. The west end or wing is the shortest, being sixty-five feet in 
length, and was lately standing, as it was originally built, allowing for 
the injuries it had suffered from the cannon of its enemies, or rather from 
its greater enemy, time. The whole building had a flat roof, with parapet 
walls, and embrasures for guns ; but part of the roof, within the memory 
of man, has been taken down, and the present erected in its stead. On 
viewing the back part of it, there could be lately discerned some breaches, 
made by cannon, in the old wall, which was judged, from its appearance, 
to be part of the castle built about the eleventh century." 4 

Of this edifice Ealdbryht Clito had obtained possession and had secured 
himself there. 5 This Saxon chief was one of those pretenders who so 
frequently disturbed the tranquillity of the latter part of King Ina's 
reign. The Queen very materially assisted her husband in opposing 
them ; she herself laid siege to Taunton, and after compelling Ealdbryht 
to withdraw into Sussex, levelled the fortress with the ground. This act 
probably gave rise to the report of her having pulled down a part of the 
building from other motives. The castle was soon after rebuilt and for- 
tified, and denominated the " Western Key of the Kingdom." 6 

The date of the destruction of Taunton by Ethelburga, was A. D. 721 
or 722, according to the Saxon Chronicle. Ina afterwards directed his 
forces against the South Saxons, amongst whom Ealdbryht, after his de- 
feat, was wandering in exile ; he was finally slain by his antagonist ; 7 
when Ina had the satisfaction of witnessing the complete re-establishment 
of peace in his dominions. 

To the period of these intestine divisions in Mercia may perhaps be 
referred the building of the ancient castle of Desborough, in Bucking- 

1 Collinson. 

'' Sir Benjamin Hammett wrote to Dr. Toulmin, stating that it had recently 
been altered by himself into a room, after a lapse of twelve hundred years. 

3 Dr. Toulmin's History of Taunton. 

4 A Bishop of Winchester erected a new castle there ahout the date of the Con- 
quest. 

f Saxon Chronicle. 6 Dr. Toulmin. ' Collinson's Somerset. 



EIHELBURGA. 291 

hamshire, which, some think, was named after Etbelburga, who is occa- 
sionally called Desburga. 1 

The laws which Bede has transmitted to us of Ina, testify to his cha- 
racter, which appears worthy of admiration : his zeal for religion, and 
desire to promote its interests, are a great feature in these laws. They 
were made at the instance of his father Kenred, 2 his bishops Edda and 
Erkenwold, his Ealdormen, and other witas in council assembled. One 
of these enjoins the baptism of infants within a month after their birth, 
under severe penalties, which penalties are greatly increased if it died 
unbaptized ; another releases a slave from his master's jurisdiction for- 
ever, if he does servile work on a Sunday by his order; a third lays a fine 
on such as should strike in the church ; a fourth orders the regular pay- 
ment of tithes, with several others of a similar tendency. These laws of 
Ina are thought to have especially favoured the Britons, placing them in 
as advantageous a position as their conquerors. 

It has been asserted that Ina himself set the example he desired to 
see followed, of intermarriages with the Saxons and British, by espous- 
ing Guala, 3 daughter of Cadwallader; but there is so much confusion of 
dates respecting this event, that it is difficult to come to a conclusion as 
to the facts. Milton, who names the marriage in his history, seems very 
doubtful about it ; and historians are obliged to slur it over, evidently 
not being able to give the necessary details. It was not probable that 
during Ethelburga's lifetime, Ina should have made this alliance, as 
nothing is recounted of her divorce or resumption of lost dignity, circum- 
stances very often occurring in these times ; and the name of Ethelbu-rga 
continually occurs throughout the long reign of Ina, both as a sharer of 
his warlike successes and his domestic peace. It seems more reasonable 
to suppose, that the similarity of names, and their repetition in the same 
family, may have led the chroniclers into error, than that injustice should 
have been done to the wife to whom Ina was so much attached. 

The great respect shown by Ina to the distinguished scholar who illus- 
trated his reign, St. Aldhelm, and also to the celebrated Winfreth, better 
known as Boniface, proves the worth of his own character, and the supe- 
riority of his mind. 4 Both these great men exercised a powerful and 
salutary influence on the acts of Ina, and both have left names capable 
of giving lustre to any reign. 

One of the most memorable services to the Church, performed by Ina, 
was the rebuilding and endowing the magnificent old British Abbey of 
Glastonbury, which he did for the repose of the soul of a murdered kins- 
man, and which was a more Christian method of proving his piety than 
the signal revenge he thought himself bound to take on the murderers. 
Nothing could equal the splendour he lavished on this favourite building, 
and the riches he continued to shower upon it. It is recorded that he 

' Camden. 

2 See the Preamble tc his Laws: "I, Ina, with the counsel of my father 
Cenred." 

3 Lambert's Archives ; Winchester Chronicle ; Rudborne. 

4 William of Malmesburv. 



£02 ETHELBURGA. 

adorned the chnpels in the most sumptuous style; "garnishing and 
plating them over with two thousand six hundred and forty pounds' weight 
of silver, and erecting an altar which he ornamented with two hundred 
and sixty-four pounds' weight of gold ;" besides this the chalices, censers, 
candlesticks, and robes, embroidered and enriched with gems and carving 
of the most elaborate description, were innumerable. 

Baldred, a sub-king of Wessex, almost equal to himself in power and 
riches, vied with Ina in gifts to this world-famous monastery ; and the 
names of Ethelburga and Ethelhard appear in the charters of 725, — the 
latter styling himself " the Queen's brother." ' 

Ina and his Queen also granted donations to Old Sarum, which, from 
some records contained in the Bodleian and Cottonian Libraries, appears 
to have been immediately under the protection of the Saxon princes. 
The following record is very curious, as it probably informs us of the only 
churches there in those early times; it begins thus : 2 "I, Ina, king, for 
the salvation of my soul, grant unto the church of St. James, in Sares- 
byrig, the lands of Fokenham, for the use of the monks serving God in 
that church. Whoever shall presume to infringe this my munificence, 
let him, in the day of judgment, be placed on the left hand of Christ, 
and receive the sentence of damnation with the devil and his angels." 
Then follows the grant of Ethelburga, his consort, to the nunnery of St. 
Mary, in Sarum : " I, Ethelburga, wife of Ina, king, &c, for the salva- 
tion of my soul, grant to God, and the nuns serving God in the church 
of St. Mary, in Saresbyrig, the lands of Beddington, with their append- 
ages, &c." 

Ethelburga had, for a length of time, endeavoured to persuade her 
husband, then in the decline of life, to relinquish the concerns of the 
world, and receive the habit of a monk. The King at last, after a long 
and fortunate reign of thirty-seven years, laid aside his regal dignity, 
through her exhortations, aided by the effect produced on his mind by the 
ingenious device with which they were accompanied. 

The following incident, important in its results, is singularly charac- 
teristic of the time : — The royal pair one day paid a visit, to one of their 
country residences, where a splendid banquet awaited their arrival, which 
was served with all the pomp and splendour attendant on regal luxury. 
Ethelburga resolved to convert this occasion to a useful moral lesson 
on the subject nearest to her heart. As soon as the King and Queen, 
with their cortege, had departed, the festive hall was, by her orders, 
scattered with filth and rubbish ; while on the very bed, lately appro- 
priated to their own repose, was placed a swinish litter. Scarcely had 
the travellers proceeded two miles on their road than Ethelburga made 
an excuse to return, and Ina, with much courtesy, assented to her 
request. His surprise was excessive on re-entering the hall, lately the 
scene of mirth and festivity, to perceive the disgusting change. In silent 
astonishment and displeasure he gazed upon the scene before him. 
When informed that it had been so directed by the Queen, he demanded 

1 Hearne's Glastonbury ; Dugdale. 

2 Phillips's History of Old Sarum. 



ETHELBURGA. 293 

from Ethelburga an explanation of this strange mystery. She smiled, 
and answered : " My lord and husband ! this is not, indeed, the noisy 
hilarity of yesterday : here are no brilliant hangings, no flattery, and no 
parasites : here are no tables weighed down with silver vessels • no exqui- 
site delicacies to delight the palate : all these are gone like the smoke 
and wind. Have they not already passed away into nothingness ? And 
should not we feel alarmed who covet them so much, because we shall be 
as transient ? Are not all such things, are not we ourselves, like a river, 
hurrying, heedless and headlong, to the dark ocean of illimitable time ? 
— unhappy must we be if we let them absorb our minds ! Think, I 
entreat you, how disgusting those things become of which we have been 
so enamoured. See to what filthy objects we are attached. In these 
loathsome relics we may see what our pampered bodies will become. Ah ! 
let us reflect, that the greater we have been, and the more powerful we 
are now, the more alarmed should be our solicitude; for the greater will 
be the punishment of our misconduct." l 

The reflections of Ethelburga, thus strangely prefaced, were by no 
means uncommon in early times, when strong contrasts were often brought 
to bear on worldly pleasure. The singular and impressive lesson was not 
thrown away on the intelligent mind of Ina, who immediately determined 
on what was then held as the highest act of piety, namely, to make a pil- 
grimage to Rome. His first step was to renounce the temporal dignity 
of his earthly kingdom, to prepare himself for the one immortal. He 
forthwith resigned his crown, by will, to his brother-in-law Ethelard, and 
then made every necessary preparation for the religious life on which he 
proposed to enter; assuming a plebeian dress, renouncing his rank, and 
living in a private and retired manner with his beloved Ethelburga, who 
joyfully aided him in carrying out his good resolutions. It is even said 
that, during this period, Ina lived by the labour of his own hands, as was 
the custom of many of the religious of his times. 2 

Ethelburga accompanied her husband to Rome, assuming a masculine 
habit, probably for her protection on the journey, and, as is also asserted, 
retaining it on her arrival in that city. 3 They resided there, not far dis- 
tant from each other, in a poor and private manner, " unlike, indeed, the 
dignity to which they had been accustomed, but filled with mutual love, 
charity, and devotion." 4 They passed their time in constant exercises 
of religion and benevolence ; among which may be mentioned the found- 
ing of the Saxon school by Ina at Rome, for the benefit of such of his 
countrymen who might seek an education in that city, with a church for 
their service, and to provide convenience for their interment. To sup- 
port these foundations, and the English residents there, Ina is said to 
have imposed the tribute of a penny on every family in England, which 
was sent to the Papal See under the name of Rome scot, or Peter's 

1 William of Malmesbury, S. Turner. It is to be regretted that the place which 
was the scene of this remonstrance is not positively mentioned : one of Ina's 
palaces and a castle was at Somerton, in Somersetshire, thirteen miles distant 
from Wells. — Collinaon. 

9 Hume, Tanner. 3 Bicknell. ♦ Butler. 

25* 



294 ETHELBURGA. 

pence. 1 The establishment of this tax is, however, more frequently 
attributed to Offa than to Ina. 

Some authors state that Ina and his Queen died at Rome ; others, that 
Ina, returning to England, shut himself up in a cloister, where he ended 
his days. According to Willis, the remains of this glorious monarch of 
the Angles repose in the middle of the body of the church of Wells 
(founded by himself), opposite to the north porch. 

Queen Ethelburga is said to have entered into the Abbey of Barking 
after her return, her sister-in-law, Queen Cuthburga, Ina's sister, being- 
abbess of the establishment; and when Cuthburga became Abbess of 
Wimbourne, in Dorsetshire, Ethelburga presided over the congregation 
of Barking till her death, after which she received the honours of canoni- 
zation. 

Ethelard was named by Ina his successor, as he had no male heirs. 
Camden, however, mentions three daughters of Ina, of whom he relates a 
story similar to that of the three daughters of King Lear, and which is 
supposed by some of the editors of Shakspeare, 2 to have suggested to the 
immortal bard the subject of his play. Ina is said to have inquired of 
these princesses, on some occasion, not only whether they loved him then, 
but whether they would continue to do so during their lives, above all 
others, to which the two eldest swore earnestly that they would. But 
the youngest and wisest of them, unwilling to flatter her father, told him 
honestly, " That albeit she did love and reverence him, and so would 
whilst she lived, as much as nature and daughterly duty at the utmost 
could expect ; yet she did think that one day it would come to pass, that 
she should affect another more fervently, meaning her husband, when she 
was married, who being made one flesh with her, as God by command- 
ment had told, and nature had taught her, she was to cleave fast to, for- 
saking father and mother, kith and kin." This is all we hear of the 
daughters of Ina, whether by Ethelburga or Guala, and Camden gives it 
from an anonymous authority. 

Ethelard became king in 729, trod in the footsteps of his illustrious 
predecessor, and in all his undertakings was assisted by his Queen Frido- 
githa, who especially distinguished herself by the generosity she dis- 
played in her donations to the Church, on which she bestowed the greater 
part of her own patrimony. The first year of their accession to power, 
both the King and Queen liberally endowed the Abbey of Glastonbury. 
Fridogitha herself bestowed on it the manor of Brunantun (or Brompton- 
Ilalph), containing within its limits five hides of land, which remained in 
the possession of the monks till after the Norman Conquest, when King 
William gave it to Sir William de Mohun. 3 

Among other acts of religious charity, Fridogitha prevailed on her hus- 

1 Every family, possessed of goods to the value of twenty pence in Wessex, paid 
a yearly tax of a penny as " King's alms." This tax, collected at Lammas, was 
paid to St. Peter and the Church of Rome; hence it was at first called " Rome 
scot," and afterwards " Peter's pence." [Weever, Matthew of Westminster, 
Dugdale, &c] 

a Johnson and Stevens. 3 Collinson's Somerset, iii. 505 ; Dugdale. 



FRIDOGITHA. 295 

band to bestow the manor of Taunton on the church of Winchester; a 
truly regal gift, as Taunton, at that very time, was the chief seat of the 
Mercian sovereigns. Some writers assert Taunton to have been the gift 
of Emma, Queen of Ethelred the Unready; but as it is not named among 
the manors bestowed by that Queen, it is much more probable that it was 
given by Fridogitha. Ethelard gave, on his own part, seven manses or 
dwellings for peasants. 1 This donation was made rather more than three 
hundred years before the Conquest of the Normans in England, and in the 
interval, such a remarkable share of immunities, prerogatives, and privi- 
leges were appended to it, as are hardly to be found in the description of 
any other manor in the Norman survey. 

In 737, Fridogitha undertook a journey to Rome, accompanied by For- 
there, Bishop of Sherborne, in Dorsetshire. This prelate is described as 
"a man of praiseworthy erudition, especially in the Holy Scriptures,'' 2 
and is numbered among our early writers. On the Queen's return to 
England, she abandoned all her earthly possessions, and devoted herself 
exclusively to the service of God. At her death, she was interred in the 
Cathedral of Winchester. 

The daughter of Ethelard and Fridogitha, who emulated the pious 
example of her mother, became one of ; the saints of the Anglo-Saxon 
Church, under the name of St. Frideswide. 

1 Dugdale ; Toulmin's History of Taunton. a Matthew of Westminster. 



QUENDRIDA-PETRONILLA. 

Melodramatic legend of Quendrida — King Offa screened by monkish writers — 
Unknown crime of Petronilla — Exposure in an open boat — Stranding of the 
beautiful stranger on the Welsh coast — Meeting of Offa and Quendrida — Fas- 
cination of the young King — Opposition of his parents — The royal marriage — 
— Death of both Offa's parents — Offa's early deficiencies — Sudden change — - 
Beornred's wars — His defeat — Offa's dyke — The Emperor Charlemagne — His 
letters and presents to Offa — Demand in marriage of Prince and Princess — In- 
terruption of the friendship of the two Kings — Close of the French ports — 
Alcuin the Learned — Harmony re-established — The Princess Eadburga's mar- 
riage — Young Ethelbert, King of East Anglia — His proposal for the hand of 
the beautiful Etheldritha, youngest daughter of Offa — Excellent character of 
Ethelbert — His arrival in Mercia — Omens — Rich gifts and grand retinue of the 
bridegroom — Etheldritha, at her window, admires the beauty and grandeur 
of her lover — Quendrida's envy and hatred — Offa's welcome — The Queen's 
treacherous proposal — The chair of state — The canopy and the well — The mur- 
der accomplished — Despair of the bride — Her anathema — She leaves her 
father's court — Offa's remorse — Banishment of the guilty Queen — The spoils 
she took — Robbers — Her deserved fate — Offa builds cathedrals — The shrine of 
St. Ethelbert — Divine judgment on Offa's race. 

The history of Quendrida 1 has in it so much of melodrame, that, but 
for the repetition of her story by several chroniclers, great part of it 
would be considered fabulous. It is probable that the Monk of St. Al- 
ban's, in his account, has said more than the truth, in order to screen 
King Offa, the founder of his abbey, from the reproach of a foul murder 
which stained bis reign, and has thrown all the odium of a fearful crime 
on the Queen ; but other historians tell of her guilt, 2 and recount her 
strange adventures, therefore they cannot be rejected in a record of her 
life. 

Tradition does not acknowledge Quendrida as an Anglo-Saxon, 3 but 
insists that she was of Frankish birth, and her name Petronilla ; that for 
some crime not specified, she had been condemned by Charlemagne's offi- 
cers of justice to be exposed in an open boat, and sent adrift at the mercy 
of winds and waves. The frail bark was borne onwards until it stranded 
on the Welsh coast, and there, in an evil hour, the beautiful stranger's 
half-lifeless body was found, and the fair-distressed conducted to the pre- 
sence of the young Prince, whose destiny she was to become. She told 

1 The name is variously spelt Drida, Cynedrida, and Cynethryth ; but the th, 
in British, is pronounced like d, and the above spelling has been adopted as less 
difficult to the eye, in this, as in other cases. 

' Roger of Wendover ; Sax. Chron. ; Vita Offse II. 

3 Lappenberg, Bromton. 

(296) 



QUENDRIDA. 297 

her story artlessly, and with tears and entreaties for succour, related bow 
she was the victim of conspiracy, being of the royal house of Charles 
the Great, whose mind had been poisoned agaiust her; that she was inno- 
cent of all guilt, and had been most cruelly persecuted, the only reason 
for which treatment she traced to her rejection of the addresses of one 
who was hateful to her. 

Her youth, her beauty, her eloquence, and her sorrows, immediately 
won the confidence of those who had saved her; and young Offa/s heart 
became at once the prey of her bright eyes, more seducing in their tears. 
Deeply grateful for his commiseration, she is said to have exclaimed: 
"God, who frees the innocent from the snares of the wicked, has now 
happily placed me under the wings of your protection, has changed my 
misery to joy, and has made me feel more glad of my exile than I ever 
felt in the laud that gave me birth." ' 

The fascinated Offa gave the rescued beauty in charge to his mother 
Marcelliua, who, however, it seems, had even in the beginning, some 
doubts as to the truth of her story; but Quendrida, secure of her conquest, 
had no fears, and did not conceal her haughty disposition or her proud 
aspirings. All the remonstrances of both Offa's parents were vain, and 
the infatuated Prince made the dangerous waif thrown on his shores the 
partner of his fortunes, without hesitation. " The match was fatal" to 
both father and mother, who did not live a year after their son's marriage. 

Of Offa himself strange marvels are related, as that he was lame, blind, 
and dumb from his birth, but recovered all his faculties suddenly, when 
the usurper Beornred persecuted his parents, and oppressed his country. 
Till this time he was called Winfrith, but the name of Offa was then 
bestowed on him, because of the similarity of the occurrence to that 
recorded of the Danish Ofib, or Uffo, son of Waermund, " King of 
Angeln." z 

Offa (called the Second) was of the royal house of Wibba, and son of 
an Ealdorman, called Thingfrith ; he appears to have been the nearest 
relative of King Eanwulf, if not his grandson, as in one of his charters 
he calls himself. In early life he had continually to contend with the 
turbulent chief Beornred, who had usurped the government of Mercia, 
but over whom he at length triumphed ; his dominion was not, however, 
firmly established till Beornred's death, in 757. 3 

For a series of years he was occupied in repelling the incursions of the 
Welsh ; and the famous dyke, known by his name, was formed by him, 
from the mouth of the Dee to the Wye, to keep out his troublesome 
neighbours. It is interesting, in many parts of that country, to trace 
remains of the deep boundary, which is still descernible. 4 

1 Speed, Vita Offie, Turner. a Nennius, Alfred of Beverley, Saxon Chronicle. 

3 William of Malmesbury. 

4 Iu the year 777, Oswestry was taken by Offa from the Britons, and the king- 
dom of Powis was reduced to the western side of the celebrated ditch still known 
by hi* name. 

This ditch, called Clawdd Offa, extended from the river Wye, along the coun- 
ties of Hereford and Radnor, in Montgomeryshire, from Pwll y Piod, au ale-house 
on the road between Bishop's Castle and Newtown ; thence it passes northward, 



298 QUENDRIDA. 

The ceaseless contentions of these times carry the historian in a per- 
petual circle of bloody wars and usurpations, until he no longer wonders 
that the poet-chronicler Milton lost all patience, and exclaimed " Such 

near Mellington Hall, near which is an encampment, called Caer-din, by Bromp- 
tcm Mill, where there is a mount ; Lunor Park, near Montgomery, Forden-heatli, 
Nantcribba, at the foot of an ancient fortress, Leighton-hall, and Buttington 
Church. Here it is lost for five miles ; the channel of the Severn probably ser- 
ving for that space as a continuation of the boundary. Just below the conflux 
of the Bele and the Severn, it appears again, and passes by the churches of Llan- 
dysilio and Llanymynech, to the edge of the vast precipitous limestone rock. 
From this place, it runs by Tref y Clawdd, over the horse-course on Cefn-y-bwch, 
above Oswestry, then above Sellatyn ; whence it descends to the Ceiriog, and then 
to Glynn, where there is a large breach, supposed to be the place of interment 
of the English who fell in the battle of Crogen. It then goes by Chirk Castle, 
and below Cefn-y-wern, crosses the Dee and the Ruabon-road near Plas Madoc, 
forms part of the turnpike road to Wrexham, to Pentre-bychan where there is a 
mount ; then by Plas Power to Adwy'r Clawdd, near Minera, by Brymbo; crosses 
the Cegidog river, and through a little valley, upon the south side of Bryniorkyn 
mountain, to Coedtalwrn, and Cae-dwn, a farm near Treyddin Chapel, in the 
parish of Mold (pointing towards the Clwydian hills), beyond which there can no 
farther traces be discovered. It seems probable that Offa imagined that the 
Clwydian hills, and the deep valley that lies at their base, would serve as a con- 
tinuance of this prohibitory line : he had carried his arms over most parts of 
Flintshire, and vainly imagined that his labours would restrain the Cambrian in- 
roads in one part, and his orders prevent any incursions beyond these natural 
limits, which he had decreed to be the boundaries of his new conquests. "It is 
observable," says Pennant, "that, in all parte, the ditch is on the Welsh side; 
and that there are numbers of small artificial mounts, the sites of small forts, 
along its course." These were garrisoned, and seem intended for the same pur- 
pose as the towers in the famous Chinese wall — to watch the motions of their 
neighbours, and to repel hostile incursions. The folly of this great work appeared 
on the death of Offa : the Welsh, with irresistible fury, despised his toils, and 
carried their ravages far and wide on the English marches. Superior force often 
repelled them. Sanguinary laws were made by the victorious Harold against any 
that should transgress the limits prescribed by Offa. The Welshman that was 
found in arms, on the Saxon side of the ditch, was to lose his right hand. 

" There is a famous thing, 
Called Offa's Dyke, that reacheth farre in length, 
All kind of ware the Danec might thither bring ; 
It was free ground, and called the Britons' strength. 
Watt's Dyke, likewise, about the same was set, 
Between which two the Danes and Britons met, 
And traffic still, but passing bounds by sleight, 
The one did take the other pris'ner streight." 

The great dyke and fosse, called Watt's Dyke, is little known, notwithstanding 
it is equal in depth, though not in extent, to that of Offa, with which it has been 
frequently confounded. Of the formation of this dyke, as to time or occasion, 
no authentic information can be found. It runs nearly in a direction with that 
of Offa, but at unequal distances, from five hundred yards to four miles. The 
space intervening between the two was considered as free ground, where the 
Britons, Danes, &c, might meet with safety for commercial purposes. 

Watt's Dyke appears at Maesbury, and terminates at the Dee, below the Abbey 
of Basingwerk. The southern end of the line is lost in morassy grounds, but 
was probably continued to the river Severn. It extends its course from Maes- 
bury to the Mile Oak ; from thence, through a field called Maes-y-garreg Lwyd, 
between two remarkable pillars of unhewn stone ; passes by the town, and from 



QTJENDRIDA. 299 

bickerings to recount, met often in these our writers, what more worth is 
it than to chronicle the wars of kites and crows, flocking and fighting in 
the air ? " 

" Nothing," however, observes the learned Lappeuburg, " would more 
raise the wars of Offa above this contemptuous mention of the great epic 
poet of England, than if it were ascertained how far all these chiefs were 
influenced by the mighty ruler of the Franks, Charles the Great. If any 
reliance can be placed on the monkish biographer, the Kings of Kent, 
previously to the invasion of that state by Offa, had applied to Charles 
for aid and protection. The menacing letters of the Emperor were 
unheeded by the Mercian, and in the course of years their mutual suc- 
cess united the lord of the Germanic insular realm with the chief of the 
Roman continent. Charles sent to Offa, or as he himself expresses it, 
' : the most powerful ruler of the East to the most powerful ruler of the 
West," many costly presents, the catalogue of which has been preserved, 
though not that of the presents sent in return, which to us would have 
been of far greater interest." ' 

In a letter extant of Charlemagne 2 to Offa, mention is made of a Hunnic 
sword and belt and two silken mantles. The Emperor calls the King 
his " brother," but this is probably merely in courtesy, and cannot be 
admitted as an argument of his being related through his Queen Quen- 
drida, as some have thought. 

The friendship of the two courts was interrupted by a discord of some 
moment. 

Geroaldus, Abbot of St. Wandrille or Fontenelle, had frequently been 
employed by Charlemagne in his missions to the court of Mercia, This 
prelate was sent thither to demand the hand of Offa's daughter for his 
son Charles. His negotiation was, however, unsuccessful ; for though 
the very friendly intercourse between the two kings had warranted the 
recmest, Offa refused to grant Eadburga to the French prince, unless Ber- 
tha, daughter of Charlemagne, were bestowed on his own son and suc- 
cessor, Egfrid, who is described as being " the only joy and pride of his 
parents." The desire of Offa to form a high alliance for his only son 

thence to Old Oswestry, and by Pentreclawdd to Gobowen, the site of a small 
fort called Bryn y Castell, in the parish of Whittington ; runs by Prys Henlle and 
Belmont; crosses the Ceiriog, between Brynkinallt and Pont y Blew forge, and 
the Dee below Nant y Bela ; from whence it passes through Wynn-stay Park, by 
another Pentreclawdd, to Erddig, where there was another strong fort on its 
course ; from Erddig, it runs above Wrexham, near Melin Puleston, by Dolydd, 
Maesgwyn, Rhos-ddu, Croes-oneiras, &c. ; goes over the Alun, and through the 
township of Llai, to llhydin, in the county of Flint; above which is Caer Estyn, 
a British post ; from hence it runs by Hope Church, along the side of Molesdale, 
which it quits towards the lower part, and turns to Mynydd Sychdyn, Monachlog, 
near Northop, by Northop Mills, Bryn-moel, Coed y Llys, Nant y Flint, Cefn y 
Coed, through the strand-fields, near Holywell, to its termination below the Abbey 
of Basiugwerk. A dyke and rampart, similar in appearance, and not unlike in 
name, runs through the counties of Wilts and Somerset, called Wans Dyke, per- 
haps from Gwan, a perforation. [History of Oswestry.] 

1 Dr. Lappenberg's History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, trans- 
lated by Benjamin Thorpe, F. S. A. 

" Wilkins, Malmesbury, Leland. 



300 QUENDRIDA. 

and heir was extremely natural, but Charlemagne was indignant at the 
presumption of the demand. 

It is remarkable that this Princess Bertha, her father's especial favourite, 
was afterwards, or perhaps at that very time, secretly united to Angilbert, 
one of the most learned men of his time, who became Abbot of the 
powerful Monastery of St. Riquier, in Picardy. Bertha is described as 
being "the softened image" of her great father, in mind, voice, aspect, 
and bearing. 1 

The fathers, therefore, contended for the honour of their respective 
priceless treasures ; but Charlemagne's anger seems to have been excited 
beyond bounds, and he immediately ordered the French ports to be closed 
against the Anglo-Saxon merchants. Thus all intercourse between the 
two nations was reciprocally interdicted. There had always been a great 
repugnance among the Saxon kings to intermarriage with foreigners, of 
which few instances occur prior to the time of Edward the Elder, whose 
sisters contracted splendid foreign alliances. Bertha, Emma, and Judith, 
were among the few solitary instances of a prior date; and after Edward 
the Elder was Emma of Normandy, whose tie with Ethelred was the 
first step to the Norman conquest. 

The learned Saxon Alcuin, the friend and confidant of Charlemagne, 
was despatched to England as ambassador, to restore the broken amity 
of the two realms, which had not been destined to be of long duration. 
In a letter of Alcuin, quoted by Malmesbury, is the following passage : 
" I know not what is to become of us. Some dissension, which seems to 
have been fomented by diabolical skill, has arisen lately between King 
Charles and King Offa, so that all communication by sea is forbidden to 
the merchants on both sides. It is said, that I am about to be sent to 
England for the purpose of establishing peace." 2 

The object of Alcuin's mission was accomplished, and harmony was 
re-established between the rulers. 

The hand of Eadburga, which had been refused to the French Prince, 
was given to Bertric, King of Kent, heir-apparent to the throne of East 
Anglia, in the event of the death of Ethelbert, a young and amiable 
prince who yet remained unmarried. The union of Bertric and Eadburga 
took place in 787, Aldric, the father of that king, being also associated 
in the government. 3 

Ethelbert had resolved to devote his whole life to the service of God, 
and not to enter the married state ; but his courtiers overruled this reso- 
lution, and persuaded him to seek the alliance of some princess worthy 
of perpetuating his royal race. Ethelbert had heard of the beauty and 
virtues of Etheldritha, the youngest of the daughters of King Offa, and 
his friend and confidant, Earl Oswald, strongly urged him to demand her 
hand. A council was held, at which the nobles of East Anglia were all 
present, together with Laonorine, the Queen Mother. Every person 
there assembled, except that royal lady, approved of the proposed mar- 
riage, and it was settled that it should take place. 

1 Angilbert's Carolus Magnus. 

2 Turner. * Sax. Chron. and Asser's Life of Alfred. 



QUENDRIDA. 301 

On the part of the Mercians, Humbert, Archbishop of Litchfield, had 
suggested Ethelbert to Ofl'a as a suitable husband for his daughter, and 
was" seconded by Unwona, Bishop of Leicester. 1 The excellent character 
of the Prince rendered the match in every way desirable, and the Mercian 
King invited him to his court to celebrate his nuptials with the fair Ethcl- 
dritha. When Ethelbert' s proposal was thus accepted it was settled that 
the marriage should take place at the same time as that of her sister 
Elfleda with Ethelred, the Northumbrian King. The nuptial ceremony 
for both the royal couples was arranged to be performed at the ancient 
Mercian palace of Sutton Wallis, near Hereford, whither Ethelbert was 
to repair for the purpose. 

On the day previous to that eventful one when 

"Our kindred all within the halle, 
The wedding feast arraye ; 
When the song shall sound, and the dance goe rounde, 
And the musicke merrilie playe," 2 

the young King of the East Angles departed on his journey towards 
Mercia, full of hope and expectation, attended by a retinue of his own 
nobility. In conformity with his usual custom prior to commencing his 
journey, he heard mass with habitual attention and devotion. Late in 
the evening Ethelbert arrived in the neighborhood of Sutton, 3 where, 
iustead of entering the town, he ordered his tents to be pitched, that he 
might pass the night in the open country. Some East Anglian nobles, 
however, were deputed to proceed to the palace of Offa, and announce his 
arrival, with the cause of his coming, and at the same time were instructed 
to present to the Mercian King some rich gifts prepared by Ethelbert, his 
future son-in-law. They were most graciously received, and Offa signi- 
fied his approbation of the East Anglian's suit. 

Ethelbert, after a night harassed with frightful dreams, which seemed 
to forbode some impending calamity, sent forward his chariots and pack- 
horses laden with rich baggage, well-stored chests, and provisions ; and 
accompanied by an immense number of men on foot and horseback, fol- 
lowed himself, with a magnificent band of his knights, arranged in 
due order. The approach of this cavalcade was soon rumoured through 
the town, and at length reached the palace of King Offa. Amongst 
others who were attracted to behold the sight was Etheldritha, the maiden 
daughter of King Offa. From a window of the lofty palace of her father, 
she beheld the young King Ethelbert and his knights entering the court- 
yard. She marked with a woman's interest the splendid spectacle, and 
then hastened to her mother to speak to her of the manly beauty of 
Ethelbert, of the stately nobles, the valiant knights, and the wondrous 
splendour of his retinue, Queen Quendrida listened to her daughter's 
enthusiasm, and her malice aud envy were alike excited by the narrative. 

1 This see was removed from Dorchester to Leicester in 737. It eventually 
merged into the present Lincoln bishopric. 

2 "The Greye Baron," from Dovaston's Legendary Ballads. 

3 Offa had another royal residence at Tamworth, where his successors, Kinwulf, 
Beornwulf, and Buthred, afterwards resided. 

26 



302 QUENDEIDA. 

She had opposed the marriage from the first, disliking Ethelbert for his 
religious devotion ; for, being an unbeliever herself, Christian observances 
were hateful in her eyes. She had been deeply mortified that her daugh- 
ters should have been unable to form foreign alliances, and had even per- 
secuted the Archbishop of Litchfield and the other bishops, because, in 
the marriages she sought for her other daughters, they had opposed her 
policy, as ruinous to Mercia; and now nothing could exceed her vexation 
when she found that she was likely to be foiled in her last expectation ; 
meanwhile Offa, delighted to receive Ethelbert, his daughter's bridegroom, 
bestowed on him a paternal embrace, accompanied with the words, " Wel- 
come, my son; welcome, my son-in-law, welcome! You shall henceforth 
be regarded as my favourite child !" Quendrida stood aloof, beholding 
the joy of the meeting with a scowling brow, and revolving in her mind 
how to make Ethelbert feel the effects of her resentment. 

Unsuspicious of her designs, Offa afterwards repaired to his wife, to 
ascertain when it would be convenient to her that her daughter's marriage 
should be celebrated. It was then that Quendrida spoke as follows : — 

" The subject is one which requires very grave consideration. You are 
well aware that the petty princes of the East Angles have long desired to 
obtain dominion over the Mercians. You have full knowledge of the 
hereditary enmities, and the mutual injuries inflicted upon each other by 
both these kingdoms ; and now I am greatly deceived, if ambition rather 
than affection has not attracted Ethelbert to this court. Marriage is the 
pretext, friendship the cloak, which have served the purpose of the keen 
spy, who would judge for himself the weakness that accompanies your 
advanced years, and the best means of insuring your destruction. You 
should regard your guest, not as a lover, but as a hostile commander ; for 
it is in the latter capacity he has appeared before you, accompanied by 
numbers of soldiers, large enough for an army — too large for the purposes 
of peace. 

" Suppose he marries your daughter, and that such is the sole cause 
of his coming; then by right of that marriage he will regard himself 
as your heir, and entitled to succeed you on the throne. As an im- 
patient heir, he will daily wish for your death ; and all that you now 
peacefully enjoy, he will constantly seek for, and as sedulously struggle 
to acquire. You prepare a rod of chastisement for yourself; you knot 
together the whip with which you will hereafter be beaten, if you give to 
one like this, pretensions to be your successor. Make him your son-in- 
law, your life is in peril, and your crown in danger; or if life be long 
spared to you, it must be passed amid the terrors of fear ; you exchange 
the independence of a free king in your own dominions for the trembling 
timidity of an Eastern slave. 

" Suppose, on the other hand, that you now reject his alliance, and 
that you allow him, justly offended with the treatment he has expe- 
rienced, to withdraw from your kingdom, there can be no doubt that you 
expose yourself to as great a danger as that which you desire to escape. 
He now knows the roads of your kingdom — he requires no spy to tell 
him what parts of it are the most accessible for his troops — how it can 
be best assailed, or what are the points on which you will rely for your 



QUENDRIDA. 303 

defence. He has seen and has noted your age and your infirmity; and 
all he has to do is to make as a pretext for hostilities, the affront to which 
you have subjected him, and on the instant he proclaims war, he begins 
the destruction of your kingdom, and deprives you of life. 

" There is but one of two modes of escaping from the danger and per- 
plexity entailed upon you by the coming of this guest; either he will in 
a short time cause your death, or you now must cause his — in my mind 
a just and fitting punishment for bis presumption." 

When Quendrida finished speaking, Offa sighed deeply, and after con- 
sidering for a few moments, answered her thus : — 

" Your discourse has, in sooth, convinced me that I am reduced to a 
dangerous and pitiable plight ; for I plainly see that on this side there is 
imminent peril, and on the other irretrievable infamy. 1 Far, far, how- 
ever, be from me the detestable crime that you suggest; a crime which, 
if once committed, would bring eternal opprobrium upon me and my 
successors." 

He quitted her presence, and soon after rejoined his royal guest with 
an appearance of tranquillity which covered the real anguish which 
preyed upon his mind. A magnificent banquet was served, with costly 
wine, 2 accompanied by music, singing, and dancing. The two Princes 
sat down together to the entertainment, and the day passed away in joy 
and merriment. But Quendrida, with " murder in her smile," meantime 
had prepared a tragic ending to the scene. Close by the couch which 
Ethelbert was to occupy at night, she caused a magnificent throne to be 
placed, over which was erected a royal canopy, the sides of it decorated 
with rich hangings. Beneath this chair of state there was a deep well. 
Such was the contrivance on which she had decided, and having seen that 
all was sure, she joined Offa and Ethelbert in the banqueting hall. 
There, entering into a lively conversation, she after a time inquired of the 
unsuspicious Ethelbert — "Will you not come, my son, and visit the 
maiden who is to be united to you in marriage? She anxiously awaits a 
visit from you in my chamber, and will, no doubt, hear with pleasure the 
words of love, when pronounced by her intended husband." 

Ethelbert rose at once and attended Quendrida to the fatal spot, whence 
his attendants were at the same instant excluded. The Princess was not 
there, as her expectant lover had supposed, but Quendrida, turning sud- 
denly round, said: " Seat yourself there, my son, until she arrives." 
The young King obeyed, and the moment he took his seat on the throne, 
the platform on which it was erected gave way beneath him, and in a 
mass fell with him and upon him into the gulph beneath, 3 where, by the 
aid of assassins concealed in the neighbouring apartments by the Queen, 
he was speedily suffocated; for Quendrida aided her confederates by 
flinging on the unfortunate Prince the pillows, bedding, hanging, and 
tapestry, lest the sound of his dying groans and shrieks should betray her 

1 Bromton. 

* Wine was sard to be "the drink of the elders and the wise," and only seen at 
the tables of the great. 

3 The Monk of St. Albans, &c. 



304 QUENDRIDA. 

crime To complete the deed, the scarcely lifeless body was decapitated 
by the order of the relentless Quendrida. 

That this horrible act was entirely perpetrated by the Queen without 
the knowledge of Offa, appears the more unlikely, since it is certain that 
he immediately after invaded East Anglia, and annexed it to his own 
dominions, which would seem to betray the motive of the deed. 1 So 
suddenly, indeed, did he march thither, that no measures could be taken 
for its defence, and it was added easily to his other conquests. 

The innocent bride Etheldritha, becoming suddenly conscious of the 
horrible truth, in the midst of the general consternation which filled the 
palace had yet found time to convey warning of her parent's treachery to 
the East Anglian nobles who had accompanied Ethelbert, so that they 
were able to make their escape, while the unfortunate Princess herself, 
in her consternation and despair, filled the air with lamentations, and even 
in the extremity of her anguish was led to curse the authors of her being, 
and prophetically to denounce the vengeance of Heaven which was about 
to punish them for their awful crime. To Quendrida she declared in 
words, as if inspired, that her only son Egfrid would not live three years 
longer, and that she should herself die in a few months, overcome with 
equal misery and despair to that she had caused. 

Etheldritha instantly abandoned her father's court, and in the Monas- 
tery of Croyland, in Lincolnshire, received the habit of a nun, preferring 
rather " to be as a serf in the house of the Lord, than to dwell as a 
queen in the palace of sinners ;" in that solitary retirement, at a distance 
from the vain pleasures of the world, she passed in sadness and contem- 
plation the remainder of her days. 

Offa, after the deed of murder bad been perpretated, took to his chamber 
for three days, which he passed without nourishment, sighing and weep- 
ing, his mind apparently occupied by the deepest grief. Whether from 
remorse or disgust, he avoided the sight of his guilty Queen, and com- 
manded that Quendrida should be removed at once from court to one of 
the most remote and solitary places in Mercia, to be placed there in the 
closest confinement. He did not put her to death, but professed to desire 
that the prolongation of her life would afford her time for repentance. 
He suffered her, however, to carry to her prison an immense treasure, 
"the spoils of the oppressed." She had with her the instruments of her 
doom ; for these heaps of accumulated gold and silver induced robbers to 
attack the mansion in which she dwelt, for the sake of so splendid a 
booty; and the Queen, being seized by the marauders, who little heeded 
her dignity, was flung into a deep well, where, bruised and maimed like 
her ill-fated victim, she expired in torment. This Lady Macbeth of her 
time is said to have been called by the Saxon name of Leog, signifying 
" a queen to be feared." Offa witnessed the retribution of Heaven, on 
the author of what was perhaps a crime in which he had participated ; 
he lived, moreover, to repent. Desirous of re-establishing his character 
in the estimation of the world, and to appease his remorse, or quiet the 
soul of the murdered prince, he paid great court to the clergy, and as- 

1 Turner's Anglo-Saxons. 



QUENDRIDA. 305 

suraed the monkish devotion of his times. He even undertook a pil- 
grimage to Rome, to obtain absolution from the hands of the supreme 
Pontiff. He was ordered to erect a cathedral over the remains of Ethel- 
bert ; and on his return the Cathedral of Hereford ' was built, whither, 
as soon as it was completed, he removed the mangled relics of the ill- 
starred prince, which had been dishonourably buried, at the time of the 
murder, on the bank of a small river near the palace. The edifice was 
then solemnly dedicated in the name of the royal martyr, who had been 
previously canonized by the Pope. 

The shrine in which the ashes of St. Ethelbert repose is yet in existence, 
and an exact representation of the original may be seen in Strutt's Anglo- 
Saxon Antiquities. " It consists of a curious piece of enamelled copper, 
lined with oak, which last is supposed to be part of the floor on which 
the murder of the saint was committed. The machine held by the two 
attendants, on which the dead body lies, appears to be the bier on which 
the corpse was carried on the shoulders of attendants to the place of 
sepulture. The writing on the tablet held by the attendant priest, is so 
obliterated as to render it impossible to be decyphered." 

Offa, who is said to have bestowed a tenth of his goods on the Church, 
having richly endowed the Cathedral of Hereford, founded also the Ab- 
bey of St. Alban's ; and surely if the practice of saintly virtues claimed 
canonization, the honour was merited by Ethelbert, who, when living, was 
beloved and admired of all for his goodness and piety. One of the say- 
ings attributed to him was the following : " That the greater men were, 
the more humbly they ought to bear themselves; for the Lord putteth 
proud and mighty men from their seats, and exalteth the humble and 
meek." 2 In the centre of the Abbey of St. Alban's may be seen a rude 
paintiug of the monarch, with an inscription underneath, setting forth 
that it was founded by Offa in 793. 

The Abbey at Bath was likewise of Offa's foundation ; 3 he enriched 
the church at Westminster, and made also rich gifts to Canterbury, and 
other places far beyond his own dominions. 

Retributive justice pursued all his family; his daughter Alfleda, mar- 
ried to Ethelred of Northumberland, was beheaded, by her husband's 
orders, before a year of her marriage was past. It is said that this pair 
were united at the very time of the murder of Ethelbert ; and Strutt has 
published a curious picture from an ancient Saxon book in the Cottonian 
Library, representing the double marriage of the sisters, as if the nuptial 

1 Weever. 2 Holinshed. 

3 After Ethelbert's murder, Offa had removed to Bath, which city he had con- 
quered after it had been more than two hundred years under the dominion of the 
West Saxons, who had rebuilt the Roman walls, employing in that task the ruins 
of temples, mausoleums, and triumphal arches, devastated in their conquest un- 
der Ceaulin and Cuthwin, a. d. 577. Roman sculptures had been inserted in 
these new walls for ornament. Thus the city was remodelled according to the 
Saxon taste, and the Temple of Minerva converted into a Christian house of 
nuns, dedicated to St. Peter: in this foundation Offa placed a society of secular 
nuns. — Collinson. 

26* U 



306 QUENDRIDA, 

ceremony with Ethelberfc had actually taken place, — which is not unlikely, 
the better to secure the victim. 

Ethelred of Northumberland was put to death by his subjects in the 
year of Offa's demise, and his son Egfrid, on whom his hopes were placed, 
died within a few months of his father : thus the line of Offa became 
extinct, and in the person of Egbert, the glorious Mercian kingdom 
became merged in that of Wessex. 

Offa's grave was accidentally discovered in the churchyard of Hemel 
Hempstead. " In digging a vault, the sexton, when he had excavated 
the earth about four feet below the surface of the ground, found his spade 
strike against something solid, which, upon inspection, proved to be a 
large wrought stone, the lid of a coffin ; and under it was found the coffin 
entire, which was afterwards taken up in perfect condition ; but the bones 
contained therein, on being exposed to the air, crumbled to dust. On the 
lid of the coffin is an inscription, partly effaced by time, but still suffi- 
ciently legible decidedly to prove that it contained the ashes of the cele- 
brated Offa. The coffin is about six and a half feet long, and contains a 
niche or resting-place for the head, and also a groove on each side, for 
the arms, likewise for the legs ; it is curiously carved, and altogether 
unique of the kind." ' 

1 Monthly Magazine, vol. xxvi. Oct. 1st, 1808. 



EADBURGA.-ELFLEDA. 

Pride of Eadburga — Prince Egbert's banishment — He seeks shelter with Offa , is 
refused hospitality — Flies to the court of Charlemagne — The Queen's influence; 
her jealousy, and vindictive character — Infatuation of her husband — Her hatred 
of Worr — Her attempts to ruin him — Resistance of Bertric — The banquet — 
The poisoned cup — Death of the King and his friend — Flight of the Queen — 
She seeks the court of Charlemagne; is well received there at first — Her beauty 
and her gifts — Change of public estimation — Charlemagne's sarcastic offer — 
The incautious reply of the widow — The Emperor's contempt — His bestowal 
of a convent on her — Her conduct as Abbess — Her expulsion and degraded 
position — Her arrival at Pavia and destitution — Her death in misery — Her 
quaint epitaph — Detestation of her memory — Title of Queen not allowed by 
Anglo-Saxons — Egbert's succession — The contrast of the sisters — The Abbess 
ofCroyland — Witlaf's sojourn and gifts; his attachment to Etheldritha — The 
Danes — Elfleda, daughter of Kenulf — Her son Wistan — Rejected offer of Ber- 
" ferth — Murder of Wistan. 

Eadburga, the daughter of Offa, who had married Bertric, King of 
Kent, is said to have " borne herself very highly, on account of her pa- 
rentage." ' Her pride was ill-founded, for she inherited the worst quali- 
ties of her mother, without any of her father's merits, being disdainful, 
capricious, and of violent passions. She is accused of having incited her 
husband Bertric to banish Prince Egbert, the true heir to the crown, on 
pretence of his being engaged in a conspiracy against him : there are, 
however, writers who say that Egbert fled from the court of the West 
Saxons, because his father-in-law Bertric had attempted his life; his rea- 
son for the young prince's destruction being to remove a competitor for 
the throne, the title of Egbert, as son of Alchmond, though set aside in 
his favour, being superior to his own. The fugitive prince, whose story 
somewhat resembles that of Edwin of Northumberland, sought protec- 
tion with Offa. But that monarch was not more kindly disposed towards 
him than his daughter and her husband, and Egbert was finally com- 
pelled to seek his safety with Charlemagne in the court of France : in 
that country it was that the royal exile acquired the accomplishments 
which enabled him, at a future period, to become so shining a character 
on the English throne. 2 

It is very probable that Eadburga used her influence with her infatu- 
ated husband, to prevent his doing justice to Prince Egbert, even if she 
had not been the original cause of his misfortunes ; for every act of her 
life proves that her power was exerted to an evil end, and to offend her, 
or to stand in the way of her will or her interest was at once to create in 
her an implacable enemy. She exercised unlimited control over her hus- 

1 Speed. 2 Hume 

(307) 



308 EADBURGA. 

band, who opposed her in nothing, and allowed her absolute dominion in 
all the concerns of the kingdom. When other plans failed to revenge 
herself on those she considered her enemies, she had a means to which 
she did not hesitate to have recourse, namely, poison; and it is said, that 
on more than one occasion she availed herself of her dangerous knowledge 
of the property of drugs, to get rid of persons obnoxious to her. Her 
success in these modes of vengeance, was, however, destined, in the end, 
to cause her downfall, and " she fell into the pit which she had. digged 
for another/' as her mother Queen Quendrida had done before her. 

Amongst the courtiers of Bertric was a young Ealdorman, named Worr, 
distinguished for worth of character and for accomplishments, to whom 
the King was extremely attached, and who had, in consequence, excited 
the jealous hatred of Eadburga. Having used every art to destroy her 
husband's confidence in his friend, she resolved to effect their separation 
by her customary method, in order to have no rival in the regard of 
Bertric. But she did not contemplate the event which occurred, and 
which at once deprived her of power and influence for ever. 

At a repast, at which both Worr and the KiDg were present, she pre- 
sented the former with a cup, previously drugged by her own hand, of 
which he unsuspectingly drank, but at the same time, by an accident 
which she did not foresee, Bertric, taking the goblet from his friend, 
before she could prevent him, finished the remainder of the poison, and 
both, seized instantly with agony, expired before her eyes together. 1 

The King being dead, Eadburga, justly fearing the punishment she so 
well deserved, and knowing that she had incurred the hatred of the people, 
not only by this, but by many other crimes, without delay hastened to 
fly from the palace, and eventually contrived to make her escape into 
France, taking with her all the riches and treasures she had been able to 
secure. Eadburga, thus laden with precious gifts, presented herself before 
the French throne, and there, at first, her beauty and liberality procured 
for her a courteous reception ; but the taunts and mockery by which she 
was afterwards repulsed, abundantly prove how soon the false Queen lost 
the esteem of her royal entertainer. Charlemagne was reminded by her 
presence, that her hand had been refused by the proud Mercian sovereign, 
Iter father, to his favourite son Charles. As if in retaliation, the monarch 
is said to have offered Eadburga, who was now a widow by her own act, 
the choice of either himself or his son, in these words : — 

" Eadburga, say, which do you choose for your husband ; myself, or 
my son, who now stands beside me?" To which the Queen, with cha- 
racteristic levity, returned : " If I am to have my choice, I select your 
son, because he is the younger of the two." On which the great King, 
smiling, answered : " If you had chosen me, you should have had my 
son ; but since you have preferred him, you shall have neither." ,j 

Charlemagne, after thus venting the spleen he yet felt on the score of 
his early disappointment, seemed to relax in his enmity, and gave to 
Eadburga a splendid monastery, where she, exchanging her lay habit for 
that of a nun, presided, unworthy as she was, as abbess, during a few 

1 Hume, Speed, Echard. 



EADBURGA. 309 

years. 1 Her evil disposition, however, unable to reconcile itself to this 
privacy, led her to conduct herself so ill in that capacity, that she was 
driven from her own establishment with infamy, and reduced to the 
attendance of one solitary female servant. Finally, Eadburga, daughter 
of the powerful Offa, who had once been •' clothed in purple and fine 
linen," excluded from the society of all her former associates, was reduced 
to such a condition of miserable poverty and contempt, that, abandoned, 
shunned, and abhorred by all, she was forced to beg her daily bread in 
the streets of the city of Pavia, where she ended her days. Her case 
was publicly known, and many eye-witnesses attest these facts, 2 which are 
given on the authority of Alfred the Great to Asser. 

The following epitaph was written for this Princess, and is here intro- 
duced more for its peculiar quaintness of expression, 3 than its appropriate- 
ness to one so burthened with crimes unalluded to therein : — 

"I was, I am not; smiled, that since did weep; 
Labour'd, that rest ; I wak'd, that now must sleep ; 
I played, I play not ; sung, that now am still ; 
Saw, that am blind ; I would, that have no will. 
I fed that, which feeds worms ; I stood, I fell : 
I bade God save you, that now bid farewell. 
I felt, I feel not ; followed, was pursued : 
I war'd, have peace ; I concpier'd, am subdued. 
I moved, want motion ; I was stiff, that bow 
Below the earth; then something, nothing now. 
I catch'd, am caught ; I travel'd, here I lie ; 
Lived in the world, that to the world now die." 

So universal was the detestation in which the crimes of Eadburga were held 
by the West Saxons, that upon the death of Bertric, previous to their elect- 
ing a new king, they made a law that no female should reign in their country, 
and forbidding the wives of their future monarchs to assume the title of 
Queen, on pain of their husbands being deposed. 4 In consequence of this 
law, Redburga, wife of Egbert, was deprived of the regal honours, 5 and 
also Osburga, Ethelwulf's first wife. Through its infringement in favour 
of Judith, his second consort, who was solemnly crowned, Ethelwulf had 
nearly been deprived of his kingdom and authority. The law remained 
in force till the reign of Edgar, after which it fell into neglect and ceased 
to be observed, the wives of the Saxon Kings being always styled Queens 
or Reginfe, and sharing with them in the coronation solemnity, being 
anointed, crowned, and sitting in the chair of state by their side ; the 
particulars of which honours, derived thenceforth through their royal 
partners, are yet extant. 6 

Egbert, the eldest son of Alchmond, was, on Bertric's death, recalled 
from France, and being the sole surviving descendant of the race of the 
mighty Odin, became King of Wessex, and finally chief of the Saxon 
Heptarchy. 

1 Speed. 2 Ibid. 3 Heywood's History of Women. 

4 Saxon Chronicle. 

4 The King's wife bore the title of hlafdig, or lady. — Sim. Dunelm. 

6 Selden's Titles of Honour. 



310 ELFLEDA. 

On comparing the conduct of the two sisters, Etheldritha and Ead- 
burga, we are almost tempted to believe that the difference in their 
parentage, which some authors have asserted, really did exist, and that 
the former was not the daughter of Quendrida. 

During the space of forty years, the gentle and unfortunate recluse 
Etheldritha lived at Croyland, in the exercise of every virtue, for which 
she became so revered, that her name was, after death, included in the 
saintly calendar. Hospitality, not the least feminine or least Christian 
virtue, was extended by her to the fugitive prince Witlaf, 1 when perse- 
cuted by King Egbert. Witlaf was sheltered by Etheldritha during 
a period of four months, in consequence of which circumstance he added 
to the privileges granted to the monastery by preceding kings, that 
of sanctuary within the five waters of Croyland. He also gave his purple 
coronation robe, u to be made into a cope for the use of the priest who 
ministered at the holy altar," 2 and his golden veil, embroidered with the 
Fall of Troy, to be suspended against the walls at his anniversary or 
birthday ; and besides these gifts, those of his gilt cup, embossed with 
figures of vine-dressers fighting with dragons, which he called his cruci- 
bolum, and the horn which he used at his table, for the elders of the 
monastery to drink out of at festivals, and to remember him in their 
prayers." This charter was dated A. D. 833. The worthy Abbess, on 
her death, was interred at Croyland, on which occasion the grief of Witlaf 
was so poignant that he could hardly be withdrawn from her tomb. As 
a still further testimony of his affection and regard for her memory, he 
caused his Queen Celfred, and their son Wimond, at their death, to be 
interred by her side. 3 But, as if the spirit of Ethelbert was still raging 
for vengeance on Offa's race, in the year 870, Croyland Monastery was 
ravaged by the Danes, who broke open all the tombs in hopes of plunder. 
" There were on the right hand of St. Gutlac's tomb, the monuments of 
Cissa, Beccelin and Abbot Siward; on the left, the tombs of Egbert, the 
secretary of Gutlac, St. Tatwine, St. Etheldritha, Queen Celfreda, and 
Wimond." Being disappointed of their object, these barbarians laid the 
bodies on a heap, and setting fire to them, burnt the church and convent 
together, three days after their arrival. 4 Previously to this desecration, 
Beornwulf, who became King on his brother Witlaf's death, A. D. 838, 
when marching through Croyland, had despoiled the monastery of all 
that Witlaf and the Mercian Kings had bestowed upon it, having seized 
on all the money he could find there, with a vast number of jewels and 
other ornaments bestowed for decorations on the church. 5 At a later 
period, the King, however, made restitution to Croyland for this robbery. 6 
Wimond, who had formerly married Elfleda, daughter of Kenulf, was 
deprived of his rights as heir to Witlaf, by his uncle Beornwulf: nor was 
this all. Beornwulf and his son Berferth together, concerted to put to 

1 Sometimes spelt Withlaf and Wightlaf. a Dugdale. 3 Willis's Abbeys. 

* Dugdale, Willis, Ingulphus. 5 Roger of Wendover. 

6 He died 852, and during bis reign, which lasted thirteen years, the name of 
his consort, Queen Sethred, accompanied by the title Regina, was frequently ap- 
pended to his in the royal charters granted to the church of Worcester; an 
additional proof that the law made in Wessex did not affect the other Queens of 
the Heptarchy. 



ELF LED A. 311 

death Wistan, son of Wimond and Elflcda, an amiable and pious prince, 
who, led by his disposition to religion, left his affairs, on Witlaf 's death, 
in the hands of his mother, who is esteemed a queen by our writers, and 
of his nobles. Berferth, knowing Elfleda's hand would convey a strong 
title to the sovereign power, sought her for his wife, though in reality his 
aunt by relationship. 1 

In conformity with this plan, Berferth sent his messengers to ask the 
Queen's hand in marriage. Elflcda, however, was utterly unconscious of 
the perfidious plot of her pretended lover, and deferred sending any 
answer till she had consulted with her son and the nobles of the land. 

Wistan was accordingly requested to give an opinion respecting the 
proposed match, when he gave the following answer : — 

" My dearest mother, bear in mind that Berferth, who now seeks you 
as a wife, is both my cousin and your gossip ; that he who received me at 
the sacred font of baptism, was as my father to a new generation unto 
life. Attend but to my counsels, and you shall be given to a husband 
that will never die; for those who marry themselves unto Christ, and 
accept Hitn as their bridegroom, shall receive as their dowry a glorious 
principality in the kingdom of heaven." 

"Let it be as you have said, my son," replied the Queen; "I will 
never wed Berferth, nor any mortal man." 

"Wistan, assured by his mother of her determination to pass the rem- 
nant of her days in virtuous widowhood, revealed to the messengers of 
Berferth the canonical impediments to any marriage between that prince 
and the Queen. 

Berferth, on receiving the answer to his matrimonial proposition, 
resolved on vengeance, to effect which occupied his entire thoughts. 
Under the pretence of peace and affection, he sent to invite the young 
Prince, his godson, to an interview, who, suspecting no injury, came, 
with his attendants, unarmed to the spot appointed, called, to this day, 
"Winstanstow." Thither Berferth also repaired with his followers, but 
they were all privately armed. At meeting, Berferth, taking the Prince 
a short distance from his friends, requested permission to embrace him as 
his godson. " Approach, my son," said he, " and bestow upon me the 
kiss of peace." Wistan on this walked towards him, saying, " In the 
name of Holy Peace, that which is God himself, I kiss thee, so that in 
His name I may be kissed by thee." Berferth, who had at that moment 
no respect for his King, or regard for the laws of God, stealthily drew his 
sword, and striking the Prince on his head, while in the act of embracing 
him, he shattered the skull to pieces, while one of his followers ran the 
royal victim through the body with a sword. The rest of the young 
King's attendants were also put to death. This crime was perpetrated 
June 1st, 849; but the judgment of Heaven fell on Berferth for the 
deed, who, even on the spot, was seized, it is said, with a raging madness, 
so that he was never permitted by God either to marry the Queen, or 
mount to the throne which he desired. 2 

1 Capgrave. 

a Concerning St. Wistan, consult William of Malmesbury, book ii., ch. 13; 
and Harleian MS., 2253, Dc Marty rio S. Wistani. He is commemorated on 
June 1st. 



QUENDRIDA II. 

The grand-daughter of Offa's Queen — Her great abilities and the high position she 
holds in the state — She is left guardian to her young brother Kenehn — Her 
sister Burganilda attached to the young King — His tutor Ascobert — The trai- 
torous designs of Quendrida on the life of Kenelm — Ascobert agrees to aid her 
plans — Kenelm's dream — His uneasiness — He informs his nurse, who inter- 
prets it — Aware of his danger, he removes to a secure place — The Castle of 
Kenilworth chosen as his abode — The family of the Kenelms — The hunting ex- 
cursion to Clint Wood — The murder of the young Prince, and concealment of 
his body in a pit — Quendrida mounts the throne — Is suspected by the people 
— Driven from the government, which is given to her uncle Kenulf — She as- 
sumes a religious habit, but retains her patrimony, the Abbey of Winchcomb — 
Touching legend of the revelation at Rome of the death of Kenelm — Discovery 
of the body — Canonization of the murdered Prince — Chapel built — Quendrida's 
scorn — The judgment of Heaven on her — Her death. 

The name of Quendrida is unfortunate in its repute ; for Quendrida, 
the grand-daughter of the guilty Queen of Offa, inherited the bad quali- 
ties of the degraded Queen who disgraced the high lineage of Charle- 
magne, which she claimed. 

Elfleda, daughter of Offa and Quendrida, after the death of Ethelred, 
King of Northumberland, had united herself to Kenulf of Mercia, 
fourth in descent from Wibba, the father of the warlike Penda. Kenulf 
had succeeded to young Egbert's short reign, and soon became distin- 
guished by the virtue and piety of his conduct, By her marriage with 
Kenulf, Elfleda had three children, Quendrida, Burganilda, and Kenelm. 
Another daughter of Kenulf, named Brenna, became Queen of the Picts, 
but it does not appear whether she was also his daughter by Elfleda, or 
some former consort. 

Even during the lifetime of Kenulf, the Princess Quendrida took her 
seat in the witenagemote of Mercia; so that it is probable that either 
some principality had devolved on her by inheritance through her mother, 
or by gift of her father, or else she was indebted for the honour of a place 
in the council to her father's partiality and her own talents. In the 
witenagemote held in London, in 811, Elfleda, her mother, and Quen- 
drida, were both present, as appears from the signatures, among which is 
that of Quendrida, who styles herself "the King's daughter." 

From this fact of Quendrida having been honoured with a seat in the 
State councils of her father's reign, she must have early entered into, 
and become acquainted with power, and learned to love that dominion 
which she afterwards abused. 

A monument of Kenulf's piety arose in a stately abbey, at Winch- 

1 Palgrave. 

(312) 



QUENDRIDA THE SECOND. 313 

comb, in Gloucestershire, the Mercian capital. Kenulf, at his death, was 
interred within its sacred walls. He had reigned twenty-four years, and 
died a natural death, a circumstance worthy of record in those days, 
leaving his crown to his young son Kenelm. This is recorded in the 
following quaint lines : — 

" In the foure and twentithe yere of his kyngedom 
Kenulfe went out of this worlde and to the joye of hevene com ; 
It was after that oure lord in his moder alyghte, 
Eigte hondred yer and neygentene, by a countes rigte, 
Seinte Kenelm, his yonge sone, in his sevende yere 
Kyng was ymad after him, they he yong were." 1 

On his deathbed Kenulf had besought his eldest daughter Qucndrida 
to take charge of the young Kenelm, his heir, then, as these lines assure 
us, only seven years of age. 2 In thus entrusting the infant King to 
Quendrida, Kenulf overlooked the more amiable Burganilda, his younger 
daughter, and made a false estimate of the character of his children. 
They were, indeed, very different in disposition; for though the aged 
King might esteem Quendrida, by her abilities, more competent to fulfil 
the duties of guardian to her brother, Burganilda is said to have loved 
the little Kenelm with a sister's affection, even to his life's end ; 3 while 
the ambitious Princess Quendrida planned only how to get rid of the inno- 
cent child, who was an obstacle in her path to the sovereignty. 4 The 
heinous crime which the Mercian Princess apparently meditated from the 
first, is the more appalling from the exceedingly amiable character of the 
little King, her brother, which very early disposed him to acts of piety 
and virtue. 6 

Quendrida began her scheme by attempting to destroy Kenelm by 
poison, and for that purpose caused a strong draught to be prepared, 
which she offered to him with her own hand, but it failed to take the 
effect she had anticipated, so that for this time she was foiled of her 
intention. 

Ascobert, tutor or personal guardian of the young Kenelm, had long 
beheld Quendrida with a lover's admiration. This man the Princess cor- 
rupted from his duty, by the gift of a large sum of money, and a promise 
that she would favour bis suit. As this would render Ascobert the 
sharer with Quendrida in the regal power, he undertook to put his young 
charge to death. 6 

About this period the monkish chroniclers inform us that the young 
King, having fallen asleep, dreamt a miraculous dream. He saw a tree 
stand by his bedside, and " the height thereof touched heaven, and it 
shined as bright as gold, and had fair branches full of blossoms and fruit. 
And on every branch of this tree were tapers of was burning and lamps 
alight, which was a glorious sight to behold; and he thought that he 
climbed upon the tree, and Ascobert, his governor stood beneath and 

1 Vita S. Kenelmi, MS. Coll. Trim Oxon. No. 57, Arch. 
3 Caxton, Holinshed, Palgrave, Butler, Speed ; Brit. Sancta. 
3 Langhornii Chron. " Brit. Sancta. 5 Caxton. 

6 Brit. Sancta, Palgrave, Lingard. 
27 



814 QUENDRIDA THE SECOND. 

hewed down this tree he stood on ; and when this tree was fallen down, 
the holy young King was heavy and sorrowful, and he thought there 
came a fair bird which flew up to heaven with great joy." 

Kenelm, on awaking, in much wonder, related this dream to his 
nurse Wolwelyn, who, on hearing it, was much grieved, and interpreted 
it to signify that his sister and the traitor Ascobert had falsely conspired 
his death; "for," said she, "he hath promised Quendrida to slay thee, 
and it signifieth that he smiteth down the tree that stood by thy bedside, 
and the bird that thou sawest fly up to heaven, signifieth thy soul, that 
angels shall bear up to heaven after thy martyrdom." ' 

Whether any previous observations of the nurse had led her thus to 
interpret the dream of the young Prince, or whether a supernatural power 
of divine inspiration, as is asserted, guided her in this interpretation, her 
admonition was not thrown away on her young charge, who betook' him- 
self forthwith to a more secure place of abode. To this circumstance is 
to be ascribed the first foundation of the noble structure of Kenilworth, 
a word which literally means King Helme, or Kenelm, his "wearth" or 
" place of safety." 2 That the young monarch resided there, is plain from 
the remainder of the particulars of his sad history, which all connect 
themselves with the immediate neighbourhood. The residence of Kenelm 3 
continued to be a royal palace till the reign of Henry III., who granted 
it to a member of the Kenelm family, " in whose family," says Weever, 
" it is thought to be continued at this day, in the person of Lord Clinton." 
He subjoins a curious article on the name of Kenelm, and asserts that all 
the persons in whose name the word Helme is compounded, of whom he 
gives a list, were originally of one family. 

The youth and innocent life of Kenelm did not, however, influence the 
feelings of his treasonable guardian. The fatal catastrophe soon arrived. 
One day Ascobert, pretending to take him out on a hunting excursion, 
led him astray into a wood, named Clent, 4 where he fell an easy victim. 
After cutting off his head, the murderer drew the body into a great valley, 
between two high hills, where he dug a deep pit, into which he threw the 
royal corpse, and laid the head upon it. 5 This deed accomplished, Asco- 

1 Caxton's Golden Legend. - Weever's Ancient Funeral Monuments. 

3 " King Helme, his home" (Sax.), was at one time united to the see of Here- 
ford. Kenilworth, according to Dugdale, was an ancient demesne of the crown, 
and had in the Saxon times within its precincts a castle, which stood upon a 
place called Holme Hill. 

4 Caxton's Golden Legend; Langhornii Chron. 

s A MS. Psalter presented to Queen Mary, in 1553, by Baldwin Smith, a citizen 
of London, contains the representation of Kenelm, King of Mercia, hunting with 
his attendants. There is a difference of opinion among authors as to whether 
accident or design caused the death of the young King ; and Malmesbury, who in- 
clines to the former opinion, concisely informs us that his sister Quendrida, with- 
out any malicious intention, was the innocent occasion of his death, without, how- 
ever, relating the particulars of the accident. More modern authors accuse Quen- 
drida of the crime. According to the MS. Psalter, which contains the picture 
referred to, he was murdered August 16, a. d. 819, and the illuminator agreed 
with the opinion that Quendrida was author of the crime. A second engraving 
from the MS. Psalter represents the regicides in the act of throwing the dead 
body of the King into a pit. — Strutt. 



QUENDRIDA THE SECOND. 315 

bert returned to claim Lis promised reward from the partner of his guilt. 
It does not, however, appear that he received any share of the adminis- 
tration, though he became the accepted lover of the guilty Quendrida, 
who, overjoyed at her success, lost no time in assuming the regal dignity, 
and at the same time commanded that, upon pain of death, no man should 
speak of the unfortunate Kenelm. The Queen, thus arrived at the sum- 
mit of her guilty ambition, was, nevertheless, watched by a Power higher 
than any on earth. Suspicion had naturally attached itself to her of 
being author of the late King's death, as the only person benefited by it, 
but as yet no one dared to accuse her. Still the Mercians disdained the 
government of a female as much as the West Saxons, and having had an 
instance of the deposal of a queen by that nation, in the excellent but 
inefficient Sexburga, wife of Cenwalch, were not slow in availing them- 
selves' of the precedent. They accordingly deprived Quendrida of the 
authority she had usurped, and for which she had not hesitated to shed 
the innocent blood of her own brother, and placed upon the throne, in 
her stead, her uncle Ceolwulf. 1 

On this event Quendrida testified some signs of contrition, whether sin- 
cere or otherwise, by assuming a nun's habit. Although she had lost 
her crown, she still retained her patrimonial inheritance, the Abbey of 
Winchelcomb, bequeathed to her by her father, over which she now as- 
sumed the government. She could only have kept the supreme power a 
very short time, for the death of her father Kenulf, and accession of 
Kenelm, are fixed in the year 819 ; and Ceolwulf, who, succeeded herself, 
and reigned two years, must also have begun to reign at the same date, 
for he was deposed in 821, by Beornwulf, a Mercian, whose only title to 
the crown was opulence and power. If, however, as Holinshed tells us, 
Ceolwulf did not mount the throne till 823, the length of Quendrida's 
reign would be extended by several years. 

After her deposition, Quendrida is frequently mentioned in the English 
councils with the titles of "Abbess" and "Heiress of Kenulf." That 
she was a nun at the time of the Council of Cloveshoe, appears also from 
one of them. She was, however, compelled by King Beornwulf to com- 
pound with Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, for the land which her 
father had wrested from him. 2 

The death of the ill-fated Kenelm has formed the favourite theme of 
many a monkish chronicler, and given birth to the following touching 
legend. His fate had been revealed at Rome by the appearance of a 
white dove, which alighted on the altar of St. Peter's, when the Pope 
was at mass, and let fall from its beak a scroll, on which were inscribed, 
the folio-wing words in letters of gold: — "In Clent, in Cowbage, Ke- 
nelme, kynge born, lyeth under a thorne, his head off-shorne." Mass be- 
ing over, the Pope showed the scroll to the people, but no one present 
except an Englishman, could inform him of its meaning. On which he 
sent an embassy to England, to Archbishop Wulfred and the clergy, de- 
siring that the spot called Cowbage, in the wood of Clent, named in the 
scroll, should be searched throughout. The papal mandate was obeyed, and 

1 Lingard. 2 Ibid. 



316 QUENDEIDA THE SECOND. 

the result was the discovery of the body of the young King. It follows that 
many miracles are said to have attended the discovery of his holy relics. 
The legend goes on to tell how a white cow was instrumental in directing 
attention to the spot so much sought for. " This cow belonged to a poor 
widow, and being daily driven into Clent Wood, was used to find its way 
to the valley where Kenelm was buried, and though it remained without 
nourishment throughout the whole day, at night returned with the other 
animals in better condition than they, and would yield more milk." l 
The name of Cowbage bad been given to the valley in consequence, and 
the fact had become so well known, that the Archbishop and his friends 
found the place without difficulty. 

The people of Mercia dared not remove the body, for fear of Quen- 
drida's anger; but the Archbishop and his friends, less scrupulous, trans- 
ferred the mangled remains of the murdered monarch with great solem- 
nity to the Abbey of Winchcomb, wbere they were enshrined, and from 
that time treated as those of a saint ; Kenelm being shortly after canon- 
ized by the supreme Pontiff. 2 The record proceeds in the true spirit of 

1 Caxton. 

2 The Chapel of St. Kenelm is mentioned by Nash in his History of Worcester, 
as an ancient structure on the south-east side of Clent Hill, in the parish of Hales 
Owen, an insulated district belonging to Shropshire, although part of the chapel- 
yard is said to be in Staffordshire : the author remarks, " It is no easy matter to 
reconcile the tradition of the place (which fixes the spot where the murder was 
committed, and the body first interred at Cowback or Cowdale, within the parish 
of Clent), with the legendary account of it ; for the legend affirms that a spring 
of water gushed out on the discovery of the royal infant's body. Now, in the 
field still called Cowbeck there is no spring of water, and yet not only long tra- 
dition has determined that for the spot where Kenelm was murdered, but the 
words above cited [one version of the legend runs: "In Clent Cow-batche, Ke- 
nelme, king bearne, lyeth under a thorne, heaved and bereaved."] point it out 
expressly to have been in Clent Cowback. [Both Higden and Butler say that 
Cowdale Pasture, where the well was situated, was in the south part of Stafford- 
shire, on the borders of Worcestershire.] At the east end of St. Kenelm's Chapel 
is a fine and plentiful spring, and, till of late years, there was a well (now, in- 
deed, filled up) handsomely coped with stone, and much resorted to, both before 
and since the Reformation, by the superstitious vulgar for the cure of sore eyes 
and other maladies. This well is mentioned in a court-roll of Romsley Manor, 
second of Edward IV., when the jury present " quod Johanna Haye occupat cenu- 
tserium et fontem St. Kenelmi, &c." Now, unless we suppose that the site of the 
present chapel was the ancient Cowback, and the limits of Clent since contracted 
into a narrower compass (for both the chapel and spring, together with part of 
the cemetery, are now within the manor of Romsley and parish of Hales Owen), 
we must either entirely reject the legend, supported as it is by the remains of 
the holy well and the chapel, which still bears the name of St. Kenelm's, and 
affords besides a very ancient specimen of rude Saxon sculpture over the south 
door, corresponding with that early age ; or else we must adhere to the tradi- 
tionary spot of his murder and interment, the present Cowback ; and in that 
case it will be difficult to account for the holy well, and the erecting of the chapel 
at the distance of near a mile from the true place of interment." 

" My opinion on this obscure point is, that Kenelm was murdered in the field 
now called Cowback, but the corpse was buried in or adjoining to the site of the 
present chapel, on the erecting of which, to the honour of this royal youth (who 
was soon after canonized for a saint), and the great resort of persons who came 
thither to make their offerings at his altar, the artful priest who officiated there, 



QUENDRIDA THE SECOND. 317 

monkish credulity, " That when the saint's body was brought to the 
abbey, the bells sounded without the help of man, and rung of their own 
accord. Quendrida, the abbess, hearing the noise then inquired, 'What 
all this ringing meant?' whereupon she was informed that the body of 
bur brother Kenelm was being brought into the abbey; to which she 
answered scornfully, 'That is as true as both mine eyen ben falle upon 
this boke.' And on this, beholding with indignation a solemn procession 
of clergy and people pass by her window to honour his funeral, she took 
up her Psalter, and read, as it were, against him the imprecation of the 
108th Psalm, in which, when she had proceeded as far as that verse, 
' This is the work of them who defame me to the Lord, and who speak 
evil against my soul,' her eyes suddenly fell out of her head upon 
the very verse she was reading, and stained the book with her blood. 
Quendrida' s primer was kept for a testimony of this miracle, in the Abbey 
of Winchcomb, till the dissolution of that house, it still retaining the 
marks of her blood." Not long after the Abbess-Queen expired most 
wretchedly, and her body unhonoured by funeral pomp, was cast forth, 
to use the words of the legend, " into a foul mire :" and who is there 
that reads the record of Quendridas's crimes and their deserved punish- 
ment, but must regard the death of the young Kenelm as enviable in 
comparison, and perceive that, even on this earth, there is a retributive 
justice awarded to the guilty ! 

finding a spring of water in the chapel-yard, which might possibly have some 
medicinal virtue in it, most likely trumped up this tale, which, in those days of 
ignorance and superstition, easily met -with credit, and thereby drew a still 
greater number of persons hither, in hopes to find a cure for their bodies as well 
as their souls. 

"With regard to the fabric, no part of it except the south door appears older 
than Henry the Third's time, and I am rather inclined to think it of later date; 
but the arch and columns of the south door are undoubtedly part of the old 
Saxon chapel which was erected here soon after the discovery of King Keuelm's 
body. 

"As this chapel was never privileged with the right of sepulture, no monu- 
ments or inscriptions occur, nor are there any arms or other ornaments in the 
windows. The tower is a very elegant piece of Gothic architecture, and rudely 
adorned with niches and pinnacles. 

" On the outside of the chapel wall, fronting the south, is carved a rude figure 
of a child, with two fingers of the right hand lifted up in the ancient form of 
giving the benediction. Above the head of the figure is carved a crown, which 
projects several inches from the wall. No doubt the whole was meant for a re- 
presentation of St. Kenelm." [Nash's Worcestershire, copied from Antiquities 
of Shropshire : see also in Nash's work, p. 107, and in Gentleman's Magazine, 
vol. lxxii. p. 1177, a picture of the Chapel of St. Kenelm.] 



'21 



OSBURGA AND ETHELSWYTHA, 

QUEENS OF ETHELWULF AND BURHRED. 

The mother of Alfred the Great — Earl Oslac, her father, cup-bearer to King 
Ethelwulf — Wars with the Danes — The King first intended for the Church — 
His choice of the cup-bearer's daughter — Her virtues and industry — Needle- 
work of the Anglo-Saxon ladies — The five sons of Osburga — Her daughter 
Ethelswytha married to the King of Mercia — The title of Queen revived— The 
Danes overrun Mercia — Subdue Burhred, and force him to abandon his coun- 
try — -He dies at Rome — His Queen follows him, and dies on the road — Alfred's 
infancy — Prayer of Osburga — The story of the illuminated book of Saxon 
verse — The children's anxiety — Alfred's resolution and success — The pilgrim- 
age to Rome of Ethelwulf, accompanied by his young son — Uncertainty re- 
specting Osburga — Ethelwulf's return with Judith, the French princess — Death 
of Osburga. 

No biography could be more interesting than that of the mother of 
the great Alfred, the most endeared monarch of the Anglo-Saxon race; 
a true hero, whose deeds are authenticated, and who is not a visionary- 
object of the admiration of posterity, like the renowned champion, King 
Arthur, of romantic celebrity. Unfortunately, too little of her to whom 
Alfred owed his existence is known. Osburga was the daughter of Earl 
Oslac, a descendant of Whitgar, the nephew of Cerdic ; consequently her 
station, though inferior to that of the monarch whose wife she became, 
was dignified, and her birth equal. Her father Oslac filled the post of 
cup-bearer to King Ethelwulf, which was one only entrusted to a per- 
sonage of great fidelity, and in whom the utmost confidence could be 
placed. This was important in an age when poison was so frequently 
resorted to by enemies, to rid themselves of those they dreaded or hated. 

Ethelwulf had succeeded to the kingdom of Wessex after the death 
of his celebrated father Egbert, who had had to wage continual war with 
those redoubted invaders the Northmen, and, though often victorious, left 
his kingdom still threatened by them on every side. Ethelwulf's cha- 
racter was by no means warlike : he had been educated by a priest, 
Swithun or Swithin, of Winchester, 1 and had even, it is said, taken the 
post of sub-deacon of the same church when he was called to the throne. 
His life of seclusion probably rendered him, at the beginning of his reign, 
little ambitious, and he was content to choose as his wife, instead of some 
foreign princess of higher pretensions, the good and pious Osburga, the 
daughter of his cup-bearer, whom he had probably opportunities of 
knowing and esteeming. 

1 William of Malmesbury. 

(318) 



E T II E L S W T T II A . 319 

As Osburga is never named by historians as remarkable for personal 
attractions, her merit, no doubt, recommended her to the notice of the 
sovereign; her "industry," as well as her piety, is, however, the theme 
of all the chroniclers ; ' and from the few anecdotes which have been 
handed down respecting her, there is reason to suppose that she, like 
many princesses who preceded her, was acquainted with literature, which, 
at that time had attained a very remarkable height of excellence, owing 
to the exertions of learned churchmen. 2 It would have been interesting 
to posterity, if the writers, who mention Queen Osburga's diligence, had 
described some of the elaborate work which occupied her leisure ; such 
performances being considered so important, that a minute account of 
them was not looked upon as beneath the dignity of history. There have 
come down to us many charming and curious specimens of Saxon art in 
the form of needlework, 3 of which details are given; and from the talent 
in the family of Osburga, her own may be surmised. We know that 
some of her great-grandchildren, daughters of Edward the Elder, were 
particularly noted for their skill in this feminine accomplishment, and 
that her piety also was inherited in an eminent degree by her children. 

Queen Osburga had five sons, 4 all of whom, except the first, who died 
in infancy, successively wore the English crown after their father's death. 
The youngest of these princes was born A. D. 849, at Wanating, or 
Wantage, 5 a royal manor-house of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs, where 
Osburga was at that time residing. This child, no other than he who 
was afterwards known as Alfred the Great, seems from his earliest 
infancy, to have awakened the tenderest interest in those around him, 
especially of his fond parents, whose favorite he is reported to have been. 
As soon as the Prince was old enough to receive the instructions of any 
preceptor, he was consigned by his mother to the care of St. Swithin, 6 
then Bishop of Winchester. 

Besides the five sons of Osburga, she had a daughter named Ethel- 
swytha, 7 who was probably one of the eldest-born of her children : she 
was married to Burhred, King of Mercia, who had solicited the aid of 
her father against the refractory Britons, then under Roderick the Great, 
ravaging his kingdom. The powerful King Ethelwulf, joining his forces 
with those of Burhred, however, compelled the Britons to obedience; 
and the marriage of Ethelswytha took place at Chippenham, in Wilt- 

1 Palgrave, Turner, Kemble. 

3 Asser calls Osburga " fcemina nobilis, ingenis, nobilio et genera." 

3 Standards were woven by Danish ladies, of which strange marvels are re- 
lated by Asser. 

4 Bayle, Raleigh. B In Berkshire. 6 Spelman. 

1 The names of Saxon women were generally significant of some circumstance 
in their own destiny, or the history of their family. Thus, iEthelswytha signified 
very noble; Selethrytha, a good threatener ; Elfhilda, the elf of battle ; Beage, the 
bracelet; Ethelfritha, noble and powerful; Adeleve, the noble wife; Eadburh, the 
happy pledge; Heaburge, tall as a castle; Eadfled, the happy pregnancy ; Adelfleda, 
the noble pregnancy ; zElfgiva, the elf-favour; Eadgifa, the happy gift; /Ethclgil'a, 
the noble gift; Wynfreda, the peace of man; JSthelheld, the noble war-goddess; 
JElfthyth, threatening as an elf. [Turner.] 



320 ETHELSWYTHA. 

shire, with great pomp and rejoicing, during the festival of Easter, — the 
union being a highly popular one. 

It was on this occasion that both Ethelswytha and her mother Osburga 
received the title of Queen, and were allowed all the honours and digni- 
ties annexed to the rank, forfeited through the crimes of Eadburga, 
daughter of Offa, King of Mercia, and since then not accorded, by the 
Saxon law, to the wives of their sovereigns. 1 Ethelswytha afterwards 
subscribed her name, in conjunction with her husband, in the manner 
exemplified in the Old Kegister, at Worcester, as "Ethelswyth Regina." 
This Queen also affords rather a singular instance of a Queen of England 
being permitted by Law, in that day, as at present, to give a contract as a 
femme sole. In the Chartulerie of the Abbey of Abingdon, she alone 
bestows lands, by charter, to Cuthwulf, her servant. 

Ethelswytha shared her husband's subordinate throne for twenty-two 
years ; at the end of which time the still-encroaching Danes, removing 
from Lindsay to Eepton-upon-Trent, took up their quarters there for the 
winter, and compelled Burhred to fly from his dominions, which they 
farmed out to Kilwulf, one of Burhred's household servants, contingent on 
his surrendering it to them at command. All Mercia was now overrun 
by the Danes, under their King Healfdene; their insolence, increased 
with their successes, and their ravages and cruelties were extreme. 
Burhred, unable further to contend with such foes, left his kingdom, and 
sought an asylum at Rome, where he died very shortly after his arrival, 
and was buried in the church of Santa Maria, belonging to the Saxon 

1 Osburga herself was the second queen who had been denied the privileges of 
royalty in Wessex: neither enjoying the royal title, nor the seat by her husband's 
side in the chair of state, which probably encouraged an idea of her birth being 
ignoble. [Speed.] The first who suffered from the crimes of her predecessor 
by this diminution of the dignity usually accorded to the queenly state, was Red- 
burga, wife of Egbert, and mother of Ethelwulf, who during the long period of 
thirty years, in which her husband governed Wessex, never was permitted to 
assume the title and state of the queen-consort. It would have been strange 
indeed if Ethelwulf had insisted on these grants in favour of his wife which the peo- 
ple had refused to his mother, who, for aught we know, might have been yet alive 
when Osburga became his queen. The character of Redburga, however, differed 
very much indeed from that of her pious and gentle daughter-in-law ; she is, in 
fact, compared, by one of our old writers, to Jezebel, for inciting her husband 
Egbert, to whom the title Ahab is applied, to one of the most remarkable steps 
of his reign, by which she proved she possessed the influence over her husband, 
denied in the honours she ought to have received, though exerted in a bad 
cause. 

At Redburga's suggestion, Egbert forbade the Welsh, on pain of death, to come 
beyond Offa's dyke, the boundary between England and Wales. This edict com- 
manded that all the Britons, or Welsh, should, with their wives and children, 
depart out of their lands, cities, towns, and castles, in England, "to Wild Walshe 
above Offa ditch," and also to Cornwall, Scotland, and Ireland. After which edict 
(issued about a. d. 766) had been complied with, Egbert gave the land the name 
of England. 

The above deed is attributed to a desire to gain over the territories of the 
Britons into their own possession, and the writer styles the Saxon King Egbert 
"cruel," and his Queen Redburga "his cruel and covetous wife." [Oliver Ma- 
thew's Abbreviation of divers true and auncient Brutaine Chronicles.] 



OSBURGA. 321 

school. 1 Ethelswytha, who had not at first accompanied her husband, 
whom she hoped some fortunate revolution would eventually restore to 
his throne, finding that no chance of the ascendency of his better fortune 
remained, determined to join him in his exile; and we learn from the 
Saxon Chronicle, that in the year 888 she set out on her pilgrimage for 
that purpose, accompanied by the Ealdorman Beeke, who carried with him 
the alms of King Alfred, and of the people of Wessex, to the city of 
Rome. It was not destined that Ethelswytha should reach the goal she 
sought, for she was taken ill and died on the way. She was interred 
either at Pavia or Ticino. 2 Such was the history of the only daughter 
of Ethelwulf and Osburga. 

Osburga, after her daughter's marriage, which probably took place 
when she was extremely young, devoted herself to the care of her sons ; 
and of her is told the charming anecdote, so often repeated, and so full 
of touching interest, of her exciting her youngest boy to learn. 

It is recorded that Osburga was one day seated in the chamber with 
her children, holding in her hand an illuminated book of Saxon poetry 3 
(how precious would be the volume, could it be recovered !), which the 
brothers were eagerly looking over. Observing their admiration, and 
taking advantage of it, their mother observed, playfully, " Whichever of 
you shall first learn this book, shall have it as a gift." All were 
delighted at the idea, Alfred, the youngest, in particular, who, looking 
up into her eyes, gravely asked her if she were really in earnest. She 
assured him that she meant what she said, as she desired to see her sons 
learned men. Upon this the child begged that the book might be en- 
trusted to him to carry to his master, and he shortly after returned with 
it, able to recite all the poems it contained. Of course the beautiful prize 
was awarded by the gratified Osburga, who hailed this first indication of 
her favourite son's perseverance 4 with maternal delight ! 

Alfred required all a mother's care in his early life, as he was afflicted 
with a painful malady from an infant ; and many were the vows offered 
up for his recovery at various shrines. Osburga's prayers, at a certain 
church in Cornwall, were supposed to have, at length, relieved him of his 
complaint to a great extent. As his health, however, was always delicate, 

1 Saxon Chronicle. a Ingulph. 

3 Writing books, as a monastic employment, was usual in the earliest times. 
Among British monks, David had a study, or writing-room, and began the Gospel 
of St. John, in golden letters, with his own hands. The Anglo-Saxon artists pos- 
sessed eminent skill in the execution of their books, and the character which 
they used had the honour of giving rise to the modern small beautiful Roman 
letter. 

In the statutes of the regular canons are two verses, specifying that they had 
simple girdles, tablets, combs, needles, thread, a style, paper or parchment, ink, 
and a pen-case. Du Cange mentions a singular kind of scribes, called Biodiatores, 
who wrote books and letters in the manner of embroiderers, so lightly represent- 
ing the object that it almost escaped the sight. 

The custom of carrying a pen behind the ear is ancient. In the Life of St. Odo 
is the following passage : " He saw a pen sticking above his ear, in the manner 
of a writer." — Fosbrooke's British Monachism. 

4 This anecdote is sometimes told of Judith, the step-mother of Alfred. 



822 OSBURGA. 

it might have been the cause of his father resolving to make him the 
partner of his pilgrimage to Rome, though the child was then only five 
years of age, and the charge of him must have been a most anxious one. 
Osburga saw him depart, no doubt, with painful hope ; and the result of 
her husband's journey, however happy for her son, showed that her pre- 
sentiment of evil was but too well founded as regarded herself. 

It is unexplained for what reason, at this time Osburga appears no 
longer to share the throne of Ethelwulf; whether they parted in fulfil- 
ment of some vow, common at this period, which might have had refer- 
ence to the health of Alfred, or whether, as was equally common, she was 
repudiated, that her husband might be at liberty to marry the Princess 
Judith, of France, remains in uncertainty. Some writers have asserted 
that, though no longer acknowledged Queen, Osburga, after this marriage, 
resumed her duties, and superintended the education of her children, 1 
which is not impossible, as the new Queen was only twelve years old, but 
is little probable. 

Asser, the contemporary and friend of Alfred, wrote his biography, 
yet, strangely enough, he tells nothing of the remaining history of Os- 
burga. That she died before her favorite son became king is certain, and 
it is most likely before the death of her husband ; but this is left to con- 
jecture, though some assert that it was to divert his grief for her loss that 
the pilgrimage to Rome of Ethelwulf was undertaken. 2 

Her tomb was shown at Coventry, where her memory was cherished, 
and she was canonized as a saint, according to the custom of the day. 
From this circumstance it may be thought that she retired into a convent, 
and died in the odour of sanctity. 

1 Lappenberg. 

2 Leland calls her St. Osburga, and her death has been stated as happening 
in 855. 



JUDITH OF FRANCE, 

SECOND QUEEN OF ETHELWULF 

Motives of Ethelwulf for his visits to the Court of Charles the Bald — Beauty of 
the Princess Judith — Attachment of Count Baldwin of Flanders — Ethelwulf's 
offer accepted— Splendid Marriage of Judith to Ethelwulf— Royal presents — 
Ethelwulf takes his bride to England — They are ill received — Ealstan, Bishop 
of Sherburne, excites Ethelbald to rebellion — Offence given to the Church — 
Ethelwulf proclaims Judith Queen, in despite of opposition — Ethelwulf yields 
to his son to avoid bloodshed — Judith crowned — Prayers on the occasion — 
Alfred and his young mother-in-law study together in retirement — Ethelwulf's 
death — Ethelbald forcibly marries his widow — Displeasure of the people and 
the clergy — He becomes penitent — Separates from Judith — She sells her 
dower, and travels, on her return to her father's court, through Flanders — 
Meeting of Judith and Baldwin — Consequences of her stay — Anger of Charles 
the Bald — She is placed in a convent — Rescued by her brothers— Elopes with 
Baldwin — Enmity and final forgiveness of the French King — The children of 
Judith — Matilda, wife of William of Normandy — Ballad of the imaginary ad- 
ventures of the "King's Daughter." 

It has been already related that Ethelwulf made a pilgrimage to Rome, 
taking the capital of France on his way, both as he went and as he re- 
turned, with his young son Alfred. 

The beautiful Princess Judith might have attracted his visit on the 
second occasion, as policy had directed his first. His piety led him 
to all the celebrated shrines throughout the country, and there were few 
churches at which he did not offer up his vows. He passed a year in 
Rome, not only in pious exercises, but in viewing all the remains of the 
former glory of the Imperial City, even then filled with the ruins of its 
greatness. 

Probably the acquaintance he then made with the habits of foreign 
nations, and the desire to see his own country improved in learning and 
civilization, might be his inducement to the step he afterwards took in 
uniting himself with foreign interests. If Osburga were still living it 
is difficult to reconcile his conduct with his former attachment to the 
mother of his children. 

When, in 855, the English kiDg arrived at the court of Charles the 
Bald, accompanied by his youngest son, Alfred, then in his sixth year, 
the Princess Judith, his destined mother-in-law, was only between eleven 
and twelve years of age. No overtures were, however, at that period 
made respecting the French Princess, but on Ethelwulf's departure from 
the court of her father, the train of the royal pilgrims was attended, by his 
orders, with a truly regal retinue of Frenchmen to the borders of his 
realm. 

Ethelwulf, having arrived at the Imperial City, had the satisfaction 



324 JUDITH. 

of presenting to the Pope the valuable gifts he brought thither for his 
acceptance. Alfred had, young as he was, already paid one visit to 
Rome, having been sent there by his father to be consecrated King by 
the Sovereign Pontiff. On that occasion Leo had received the little Eng- 
lish Prince as his own adopted son, and the gifts now offered by Ethel- 
wulf to the Pope were intended as an acknowledgment of his personal 
gratitude for the Pope's generous behaviour towards his favourite child, 
These articles consisted of a crown of pure gold, weighing four pounds, 
two golden tassels called Bancas, a sword adorned with pure gold, two 
golden images, and four Saxon dishes of silver gilt; besides this there 
were several gorgeous dresses. These various presents are enumerated 
by Anastasius, a contemporary of Ethelwulf. Besides these offerings to 
the Pope, Ethelwulf made a perpetual grant of three hundred mancuses 1 
or marks per annum to the Roman See, one-third of which sum was to 
be appropriated by the Pope, another to the support of the lamps of St. 
Peter, and the residue for the lamps of St. Paul's. A donation in gold 
was likewise presented to all the Roman clergy and nobles, and one in 
silver to the people. 2 The English King remained twelve months at 
Rome, during which he rebuilt the Saxon school which had been founded 
by his predecessor Ina, King of the West Saxons, and which, through 
the carelessness of some English residents, had the year before been 
destroyed by fire ; and as a proof of the humane disposition of this King 
towards the English, it is deserving of mention here, that when he learnt 
it was customary for public penitents and exiles to be bound with iron, 
he obtained an order from the Pope that no Englishman should be put 
into bonds for penance. 

Ethelwulf revisited the court of France in the month of July, 856, 
and it was then that he became a suitor for the hand of the beautiful 
Judith. Young, however, as this Princess was, she had already become 
an object of interest in the eyes of one who was by nature gifted with 
rare personal endowments, possessed of ambition, and capable of the 
highest undertakings. Baldwin of Flanders, or " the Forester," was as 
much distinguished by his courage as by his strength of arm, from which 
he was surnamed the Iron- Arm or Iron-Hand ; he was of tall and noble 
stature, and his countenance beautiful. He had entered the field for the 
first time under the command of Charles the Bald, in the war that King- 
had undertaken against the Saracens, who had invaded the borders of 

1 The value of a Saxon mancus or mearc was thirty pence, and it was equal to 
six shillings of their money, though, about a. d. 1194, it rose to the value of 
thirteen shillings. That the Saxons coined gold money is certain, and the mancus 
was their only piece of gold. They were accustomed to reckon by the pound, 
the shilling, and the mancus. The mancus was about the weight of our present 
half-crown. — Spelman, Account of Gold and Silver Coins. Asser does not say 
whether they were mancuses of gold or silver. Hoveden calls them mancuses of 
silver pennies. 

a In the Camere of Raphael, in the Sistine chapel at the Vatican, among the 
pictures of princes who have been benefactors to the Holy See, is one bearing the 
inscription, "King Astulphus, under Pope Leo IV., made Britain tributary to the 
Blessed Peter." Leo reigned from 847 to 855, during which time Ethelwulf was 
King of England. 



JUDITH. 325 

Guienne, and also against the Normans, who had made several inroads 
into the French kingdom. In these wars Baldwin obtained much distinc- 
tion, and was accounted the most valiant warrior of the time. Having a 
situation near the King's person, he was often in the habit of seeing the 
Princess Judith, 1 whose notice he attracted by his assiduity and attention. 
So entirely did Baldwin win her respect and affection, that before the 
period of Ethelwulf 's visit to France, we learn that he was betrothed to 
her in marriage. Nevertheless, Charles the Bald, for state reasons, hesi- 
tated not to break off this earlier contract in favor of the more splendid 
alliance with the King of England, setting at naught every obstacle which 
intervened on either side in a match more particularly unsuitable from 
the great disparity in age of the parties. Accordingly Ethelwulf and 
Judith were betrothed and married 2 in the following October. The cere- 
mony of the espousals took place in the palace of Verberie, when the 
nuptial benediction was bestowed by Hincmar, Bishop of Bheims, who 
at the same time placed upon the head of the little bride a diadem, and 
hailed her as a queen. An account of this interesting ceremony of 
Judith's marriage and coronation, when a double benediction was pro- 
nounced on her, first as a spouse and then as a queen, is yet extant. The 
magnificence of Judith's crown is even mentioned in a prayer on the 
occasion. 

Presents worthy of the royal personages concerned in this marriage 
were mutually given, after which Ethelwulf determined on his return to 
England, 3 and took shipping with his youthful bride. During his stay 
at the French court, the news he had received from England was of a 
nature to disturb even bridal festivities. An insurrection had been raised 
against him, by Ealstan, Bishop of Sherborne, and Eanwulf, Earl of Som- 
erset, at the head of which his eldest son Ethelbald had placed himself. 4 
Ealstan, to whom Ethelwulf had been indebted for his own prosperity, 
had become his enemy on finding his influence on the decline, and incited 
Ethelbald to rebellion, on the plea that his father, who lived the life of a 
monk, ought to pass the residue of his days in religious seclusion, as he 
had begun them, and give up the government in his favour, as Iua and 
Cadwalla had done, who, like Ethelwulf, had gone on pilgrimages to 
Rome, but had first abdicated their crowns. Ethelbald had expected, 
when his brother Athelstan died, that his father would have made him 
King of Kent; but finding not only that this was not done, but that 
Alfred, his father's favorite, was consecrated King by the Pope, he 
feared Ethelwulf intended to prefer him as his successor on the throne. 
A natural thirst after power, and the dictates of an ill-disposed mind, 
combined to draw him over to the schemes of Ealstan ; and the people 
were so much disaffected by the absence of their monarch, and the pros- 
pect of an infant heir to the throne, that these considerations, added to 
the unpopular nature of the new match entered into by Ethelwulf, pre- 
pared the way for a revolt. When, therefore, the newly-married pair 
returned to their dominions, the rebels went so far as to prohibit the 

1 Marcus d'Assigny's Hist, of the Earls of Flanders. ' Sharon Turner. 

3 Asser. - Milton, Holinshed, Turner, 

28 



328 JUDITH. 

King's entrance into his realm; taking for their ostensible pretext, that 
Ethelwulf had not only dignified his new wife with the title of Queen, 
without the consent of the country, but had eaten at the same table with 
her, and placed her by his side in a chair of state, by which he had vio- 
lated the law made by the West Saxons on the death of their King Ber- 
tric; by which they considered themselves absolved from their allegiance; 
and Ealstan and Ethelbald forbade him to enter England with his out- 
landish wife. 1 Everything appeared to threaten civil war, 2 — the father 
and son were opposed at the head of either party — when the friends of 
both interfered to prevent bloodshed, and it was agreed that Ethelbald 
should receive from his father the whole of the ancient kingdom of Wes- 
sex, which was the western division of his territories, while the King 
himself should govern the eastern portion, comprehending Kent, Essex, 
and Sussex: 3 the latter was the district the late King Athelstan had 
enjoyed, and by far the least considerable portion. Some of Ethelwulf 's 
courtiers representing this to him, and wishing to persuade him not to 
sign the treaty with Ethelbald, the excellent monarch replied, that " he 
would not purchase the territories he had ceded to his son at the price of 
civil warfare;" and added prophetically, that "even could he so obtain 
them, Ethelbald would soon recover them through his death." 4 On one 
point, however, Ethelwulf was less placable — he insisted on the honours 
due to his Queen Judith, whom he continued to treat with the same re- 
spect and affection, notwithstanding the displeasure it occasioned in the 
kingdom. 5 

Amid the general dissatisfaction at the infringement of the "West 
Saxon law, which pronounced it illegal for a Queen of England to wear 
the diadem of state, Ethelwulf convened the three estates of his kingdom, 
to sanction the ceremony of Judith's coronation, as well as to ratify the 
instrument by which he had bound himself and his people to pay over a 
tribute to the Holy See. 

The ceremony of Judith's coronation 6 was performed with all possible 

1 Milton. 

2 To use the words of Dr. Lingard: — "It is some confirmation of the story 
told by Asser, that while, from the reign of Offa to the extinction of the Mercian 
monarchy, we have many undisputed charters, subscribed by the consorts of the 
Kings of Mercia, with the title of Regina, there is not one in which any consort 
of a King of Wessex does the like during the same period. The most early in- 
stance in which that title is given to a wife of a King of Wessex, in any contemporary 
document, occurs, if I mistake not, in the reign of Edmund (anno 945), when 
Ethelgive, making her will, declares her intentions to her lord the King, and her 
lady the Queen, and bequeaths to her lady the Queen thirty mancuses of gold, 
and her land at Westwick. It has been supposed that queens were crowned, 
because in some MSS. the order for the coronation of a queen follows that for the 
coronation of a king; but this proves only that both orders were contained in the 
original from which the copy was made." — Hist, and Antiquities of the Anglo- 
Saxon Church, by Lingard, vol. ii., p. 34. 

3 Hume. " Rapin. 6 Raleigh. 

6 The particular sort of crown worn by the early Queens of England has not 
been described. Alfred and his successors, to Edward the Confessor, wore the 
commonest and most ancient form of crown. Edred and Edmond Ironside had 
coronets like those of our earls, having fewer points, but those points raised higher 



JUDITH. 327 

solemnity : the form of the service used on this interesting occasion has 
been preserved by Du Chesne, and is worthy of notice, as supplying the 
only record extant of the phraseology used at the inauguration of a queen- 
consort. 

The conclusion of the marriage ceremony constitutes the earlier portion 
of this form. After the ring has been given, with the exhortation, " Take 
this ring, the sign of fidelity and love, and the bond of marriage union, 
that no man may separate those whom God hath joined, who liveth and 
reigneth for ever," the Queen is blessed in the following words : — 

" We invoke thee, Holy Lord, Omnipotent Father, Eternal God, for 
this thine handmaiden, whom, in the divine dispensation of thy Provi- 
dence, thou hast caused to grow up from her youthful blossoming to this 
joyful time. Give her richly of thy fear, that she may go on full of 
truth before thee and all men, from day to day, unto better things. May 
she receive, rejoicing with us, largely of thy heavenly grace, from the 
kingdom above ; and thence, being guarded by the strength of thy mercy 
from all adversity, be deemed worthy to live for ever." 

The rather long and elegant prayer offered at the anointing the head 
of the young and beautiful Queen, here followed, in which it was suppli- 
cated that she might possess a the simplicity and meekness of the dove;" 
after which the coronation took place in the following words : — 

" May the Lord crown thee with glory and honour, and place upon thy 
head a crown of spiritual precious stones, that whatever may be typified 
by the brightness of gold, or the changeful splendour of gems, may ever 
shine forth in thy life and conduct; which may He grant, to whom be 
honour and glory, world without end." 

Then follow the blessings, thus : — 

" Bless, Lord, this thine handmaiden, thou who rulest the kingdoms 
of kings through all generations. 

" Accept the offerings of her hands, and may she be replenished with 
the blessings of the fruits of the earth, of the heavens, of the dews, of the 

ami pearled at the top. In some coins of Harold, that King wears a diadem of 
pearls round a helmet ; which was common with other West Saxon Kings, who 
sometimes wore it on their bare heads. The coins of Offa represent that monarch 
with a crown of pearls and other materials, similar to that used by Constautine 
the Great; and his successors, Berthulf, Burghred, and Kenwulf, wore the same 
kind of diadem. Aldulph, in the seventh century, wore the ordinary plain fillet 
or diadem, when King of East Anglia. — Selden's Titles of Honour. 

The coins of Alfred represent his head encircled with a simple diadem, after 
the most common and ancient fashion ; and there is not an instance among the 
Anglo-Saxons of any imperial crown till Edward the Confessor, who had a crown 
much like that of the Eastern Emperors. [Notes of Spelman.] 

Spelman tells us, that in the arched room in the cloisters of Westminster Ab- 
bey, where the ancient regalia of the kingdom are kept, upon a box, which is 
the cabinet to the most ancient crown, is an inscription, as follows: "Hnec est 
princi palior corona qua, coronabantur Reges iElfredus, Edwardus, &c.,'' and the 
crown is of a very ancient work, with flowers, adorned with stones of somewhat a 
plain setting. This, by the inscription, appearing to have been the crown of Al- 
fred and his successors, is to be supposed to have been made by his orders, and 
that when he was become universal King of the Heptarchy. 



328 JUDITH. 

depths, from the heights of the ancient mountains, and from the eternal 
hills. 

" May the blessing of him who dwelt in the bush come upon her head. 
Grant to her showers from heaven, the fatness of the earth, abundance of 
corn and wine, that their people and their posterity may obey them, and 
this nation bring honour to her and to her children." 

The service concludes with a short prayer, probably the same still said 
after the Communion, and truly beautiful and simple as it is, claims no 
small interest from the fact of having been in use among our ancestors no 
less than a thousand years ago. 

Ethelwulf and Judith, after these ceremonies were over, retired into 
Kent, where they resided in a state of privacy better suited to the tastes 
of both, than the glare and splendour of public festivities. Ethelwulf 
had rightly appreciated the character of Judith, when he bestowed on her 
the queenly honours which, nest to his own affections, he deemed essen- 
tial to her happiness, and to the maintenance of her dignity in the eyes 
of his people. However just that law which had emanated from the 
crimes of Eadburga, and was expressive of the national abhorrence of 
caprice and cruelty, he considered it unjust that the young, innocent, and 
royally-descended Judith, should be, for that reason, deprived of her de- 
served rights. The grave insult offered to both himself and his young 
bride on their arrival in England, must have been deeply felt both by the 
young Queen and her more mature consort. If, however, Ethelwulf had 
in the first instance offended his people, by conferring on a foreigner the 
forfeited distinctions of queen-consort, they were afterwards induced to 
acquiesce in his wishes by their love for himself, which his sweetness of 
disposition had obtained, so that in a short time, all objections ceasing, 
Judith appears to have enjoyed undisputed her royal prerogative of sitting 
in the chair of state by her husband's side. 1 

The anecdote before related in the Life of Queen Osburga, respecting 
the first learning of Alfred the Great, can scarcely be referable to Judith, 
as she was almost a child herself when the young Prince first came under 
her notice ; and as he is spoken of as singularly precocious, his learning 
at five years old is not extraordinary ; whereas, if he was twelve, as some 
assert, before he learnt to read, there is a difficulty in crediting the aston- 
ishing capacity he so early is said to have displayed. Ethelwulf, his 
father, had been instructed by the same personage to whom his son's edu- 
cation was entrusted ; and as his health was delicate, like most sickly 
children, he most probably began learning very early. Judith had come 
from a court infinitely more refined than that of England, and being so 
nearly his own age, could enter into the precocious boy's studies, and no 
doubt assisted them ; the ladies of her time and nation being well accom- 
plished, although Alfred complains of the ignorance of his countrymen 
in general, when he came to the crown. There exists, doubtless, some 
confusion of dates, which has caused the characteristic story told by 
Asser, to be attributed indifferently to the mother and step-mother of 
Alfred. It is certain, that Judith's stay in England was but short, even 

1 SeMen's Titles of Honour. 



JUDITH. 329 

though she was twice Queen ; but a few years at so early an age, and 
with children of great genius, can do wonders when the seed is once well 
sown. 

Ethelwulf survived the partition of his dominions only two years, 
which period he passed in acts of justice and charity. The reign of 
Ethelwulf terminated A. D. 857, after he had sat twenty years on the 
throne, and his remains were interred in the Cathedral of St. Swithin, at 
"Winchester. 

No children remained by his marriage with Judith, and the dominions 
over which the King had ruled, were left by his will to his second son 
Ethelbert, and after his death, to Ethelred, his younger brother, in case 
of whose decease they were to devolve on Alfred. This was, in the end, 
the order in which they were inherited by the Princes, and finally, as 
will be seen in the Life of Alfred's Queen, were divided by him amongst 
his own family. The three younger sons of Ethelwulf had already shown 
themselves worthy of their parentage; but Ethelbald, the eldest, had not 
only rendered himself hated by the people for his arbitrary government 
and profligacy, but for the uufilial conduct he had displayed to his 
father. No sooner was Ethelwulf dead, than Ethelbald took advantage 
of the unprotected state of the widowed Queen, who, then little more than 
fourteen, was left exposed to the trials and dangers of foreign enmity. 
Her extreme youth, her great beauty, and the disparity of age between 
her and the late King, may well excuse her, even if she herself con- 
sented to the proposal of Ethelbald to make her, immediately on his 
father's death, his queen. 

Turner, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons, refers to the Saxon 
Chronicle and Bede, as authorities for supposing that by law a son might 
wed his father's widow, and a brother his sister-in-law; but in these cases 
there is ample proof that the act was not according to law, but in contra- 
diction to it, from the open indignation expressed by the people, and 
especially the priests, when the violent and arbitrary Prince, in spite of 
all opposition, announced his will. 

This step is rendered the more remarkable, from the fact that Ethel- 
bald had been the most forward in opposition to the entrance of Judith 
into the country, after her nuptials with Ethelwulf. Liberty of choice 
was of course denied to Judith, and she probably saw the propriety of 
yielding with a good grace to necessity. 1 

The second nuptials of Judith were accordingly celebrated at Chester, 
greatly to the disgust of the nation. 

If the marriage of Ethelwulf with the French Princess had given of- 
fence, that of his son with the widow was infinitely more disliked ; and 
the clergy, taking part with the general community, protested altogether 
against what they represented as sinful in the extreme. The clamours 
rose loud and high, and at length Ethelbald was alarmed. His health 
was failing, — his temporary passion for his young step-mother had, per- 
haps, faded, — his religious scruples awoke, as often happens with princes 
too late, and he gave way to the remonstrances of Bishop Swithiu, little 

1 Turner, Holinshed, Burke, Caradoc, Milton. 

28* 



330 JUDITH. 

regardless of the fair and youthful cause of his people's anger. It caused 
him, apparently, no struggle to part from Judith,' who could have desired 
nothing better than to relinquish a dignity which had been forced upon 
her, perhaps in both instances. 

It would appear that she was now obliged to retire from court, while 
Ethelbald passed the remainder of his days in penitence so deep, as to 
leave regret behind him when he died, only three years after. 

French historians assert, that though her marriage with Ethelbald was 
dissolved at the instance of the Bishop of Winchester, no church censure 
was passed upon Judith ; and the Pope's interference in her favour, when 
she had, by her brother's assistance, escaped from the convent in which 
she was afterwards placed, appears strong presumptive evidence that both 
her marriages had been of a compulsory character, and that this was well 
known to his Holiness, who regulated his conduct accordingly. 2 

Judith, free to return to her native country, was now permitted to sell 
the possession she had received as her dower, and, with considerable 
wealth, set forth on her journey. 

She is said to have passed through Flanders, then under her father's 
rule, as her safest route to escape danger. A secret motive, however, 
may have been the hope of a renewal of her intercourse with Baldwin, 
who, still remembering her extraordinary beauty and his former attach- 
ment, and advertised of the great riches she brought with her, received 
her with great courtesy. In short, Baldwin testified so much regard and 
devotion, that when Judith expected to depart for France, she was so 
gently detained, that she was in no haste to quit that country. Some 
accounts, however, state, that even in this, Judith acted not from her own 
free will, being forcibly detained by her handsome wooer, whose excuse 
was, that even in her childhood he had been promised her hand, — a cir- 
cumstance which inspired pity for a disappointment so great, and enlisted 
many on his side. 

The French King, Charles, apprehensive, perhaps, of his daughter's 
partiality for Baldwin leading to some indiscretion, commanded her not 
to delay her journey ; and to manifest his displeasure, either at her having 
lingered so long, or at her second marriage with Ethelbald, ordered her 
to be confined within the walls of the Convent of Senlis, but at the same 
time to be treated with all the respect due to a queen. 3 Under the 
guardianship of Bishop Erpuin, the young widow resided there in a style 
of regal splendour; the spot itself is described as "that pleasant and 
healthy abode, the royal nursery, where the Kings of France were accus- 
tomed to send their children : some Roman arches of their palace, en- 
closing a wild fragrant garden, were standing a few years ago." 4 

A learned writer has been severe on Judith, 5 calling her an " undutiful 
girl of ungovernable passions." Widows were peculiarly protected 
against violence, and it was a crown prerogative among the Franks that 
no female of the royal family could marry without her parent's consent ; 
therefore Judith was to remain under mundbyrd, or wardship of Church 
and State, till she should either resign herself to widowhood or remarry. 

' Rudborn. * Palgrave. 3 Ibid. 4 Lingard. 5 Palgrave. 



JUDITH. 331 

Charles appears to have designed the hand of Judith for the King of 
Navarre, for whom she entertained the strongest aversion, a sentiment 
which had increased in proportion to the progress of her regard for Bald- 
win. According to some, the alternative of entering the cloister was 
offered; but the peremptory mode of dealing with the young Queen 
points out the influence under which her two former marriages had taken 
place, and shows that it was expected she would yield implicit obedience 
to the will of her imperious father. After having been twice given away 
in marriages against her will, Judith, in the present instance, determined 
to evade one so displeasing to herself as that now proposed. Her brother, 
Louis the Stutterer, who was in his father's secrets concerning Judith, 
fully appreciated the injustice with which she was treated, and encouraged 
her iu her resolution of accepting no husband but Baldwin. Accord- 
ingly, at a time when Charles had left Louis to officiate as Regent of the 
kingdom during his own absence, a few months only after Judith had 
been sent to Senlis, Baldwin carried off the fair prize, with the conni- 
vance of her brother, and was supported on this occasion by the Germans 
also. Judith had, it appears, contrived to elude the vigilance of her 
guards, and in a disguise prepared for that' purpose, escaped from the 
convent-wall, and was soon, with her lover, beyond the reach of pursuit. 

One account states that the lovers repaired together to the possessions 
of Lothaire, the brother of Judith. This prince, who is described as 
being " lame and unhealthy, but humble, affectionate, diligent, and 
pious," was of an excellent disposition, and resided, in his office of 
Abbot, at St. Germain FAuxerrois. From this place Baldwin sent Ju- 
dith, to whom he had been married without delay, to Flanders; and the 
troops which Charles sent to recover his truant daughter, and who fol- 
lowed her route, were signally defeated. 1 

The perpetration of so daring an act as the abduction of the descendant 
of the mighty Charlemagne, a daughter of the royal bouse of France, 
spread great terror among the Flemings, amongst whom Baldwin held the 
office of grand-forester. Charles, himself, breathed nothing but revenge, 
threatening not only to make war on the Flemings, but utterly to destroy 
their whole nation. He first, however, ordered Baldwin to send his 
daughter home; but not being obeyed, he caused Anselm, Archbishop 
of Kheims, to excommunicate him for having forcibly carried off a widow. 

This sentence of excommunication obliged the newly-married pair to 
undertake a journey to Rome, where, on their arrival, they cast themselves 
at the feet of Nicholas the First, the Sovereign Pontiff. Count Baldwin 
then declared, that " he had used no blandishments, no deceits, or violence, 
against Judith, who had followed him of her own accord, without even 
her brother Louis reclaiming her." He prayed, therefore, that of his 
singular clemency, and for his love to the Christian people, he would 
grant him remission, and endeavour by any means to soothe the mind of 
the King, to mitigate his anger, and to find some way of peace with him. 
The suppliant prayer of the "Iron-handed" chief, added to the tears of 
his lovely young wife, had such an effect on the pious Pontiff, 2 who from 

1 Mezerai. 2 Lingard, Mezerai. 



332 JUDITH. 

the first had disapproved of the sentence of excommunication, that he not 
only interdicted that decree, but sent two bishops, Rhodoald Portuensis 
and John Ficodensis, to the French King, as ambassadors, to intercede 
from himself in Baldwin's favour. 1 The papal embassy proceeded to 
Soissons, where Charles was staying, and where the angry King assembled 
a council of Gallic bishops to receive them, it being the second time they 
had been convened respecting the subject of Baldwin's marriage. Find- 
ing he could not prevail against Iron-Hand in warfare, Charles had 
procured the condemnation of his new son-in-law in that pious assembly 
by the Gregorian Law. 2 Now, on their being a second time convened, 
various opinions arose, and much discussion followed the announcement 
of what had been done by the supreme Pontiff. As regarded the request 
of the Pope to Charles, the King thought something ought to be yielded 
to his prayer ; and fearing lest the hitherto unsubdued nation of Flanders 
should join the Danes, 3 who were threatening invasion of France both by 
sea and land, " the King swallowed the indignity, and suffered himself to 
be at length prevailed upon. He requited a signal injury with an un- 
common benefit ; not only making peace with Flanders, but receiving 
Baldwin into his friendship, he ratified and approved the marriage of his 
daughter." 4 

Judith and her husband were, on this occasion, admitted to a private 
interview with the King, who gave orders that their nuptials should be 
celebrated by costly feasts and public expressions of joy, a. d. 863, 5 
though he would not assist in person at the ceremony, which was per- 
formed at Auxerre, whither the French nobles were convened for that 
purpose. Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, who had married Judith to 
Ethelwulf while yet a child, refusing to unite her to Baldwin on the pre- 
sent occasion, the ceremony was performed by the Bishop of Noviomagus. 6 
After this the pair retired into Flanders, where they resided with much 
magnificence; Charles having conferred the government of that country 
on Baldwin, as the dowry of his daughter, together with the title of Earl, 
by which dignity Baldwin obtained a position among the Peers of France. 

The lands appropriated to Baldwin consisted of all that tract which lies 
between the rivers Scheld and Somme, and the ocean, and were bestowed 
on the understanding that the Earl should employ all his forces to defend 
that territory from the Normans. The success of the Earl did not in 
this equal his courage, for the barbarous Normans overran all Flanders, 
and laid it waste with fire and sword, taking possession of many towns, 
one of which was Ghent, which they plundered. Baldwin had, hoping 
to arrest their depredations, built the pity of Bruges, A. D. 856, and 
fortified it with a strong castle, called the Burgh ; and the lands that had 
been laid waste, were, by his orders, recultivated. In the centre of 
Ghent, also, we may yet see the dark, battered towers of the castellated 

1 Annales Flandrise. 

3 Although they are said to have favoured Baldwin in their hearts. 

• Turner. * Annales Flandrise, 6 Hist, of the Earls of Flanders. 

6 Lingard. 



JUDITH. 333 

palace of Baudouin, " Bras de Fer." The second Baudouin added the 
fortifications which defended the birthplace of Charles Quint. 1 

It is not recorded whether Judith appeared at the French court after 
her reconciliation with King Charles. Three years after her marriage, 
her father and mother were publicly crowned at Soissons, A. D. 866 : but 
the heart of Charles was estranged from his consort by another, and had 
he not feared the consequences, he would have repudiated her. Queen 
Ermentrude was not long an obstacle in his way ; she died October 6th, 
869, to the joy of her husband, who, far from regretting her loss, re- 
garded the event as a benefit, and married her rival Richelda in the fol- 
lowing year. Ermentrude died at the Abbey of St. Denis, in the church 
of which her remains were deposited. Many vicissitudes had been expe- 
rienced by her children during her own life. One of her sons, Louis, was 
surnamed "the Stammerer," from a natural defect; another, Lothaire, 
called Le Boiteux, or " the Cripple," had preceded her to the tomb, in 
866 ; a third, Carloman, died, also, in 866, after having had his eyes put 
out by the orders of his unfeeling father. 2 Seldom, indeed, was any 
father so despotic as Charles the Bald. Carloman had been devoted to a 
religious life against his own will, and to escape taking the vows, fled the 
country, for which offence he was condemned by a synod of national 
bishops to lose his eyes. He appealed to Adrian II., the reigning Pontiff, 
who took his part in so warm a manner that Charles resented it as an 
insult. The French clergy supported Charles, and a conference termi- 
nated the dispute ; the Pope abandoning Carloman to his fate, the unfor- 
tunate Prince underwent the savage punishment to which he had been 
condemned. 

The unfortunate Carloman was afterwards harboured by his uncle, 
Louis le Germanique, and maintained in a monastery out of charity. 
Charles, King of Aquitaine, was a fourth brother of Judith, who had 
likewise several sisters, all of whom became abbesses. Of the four sons 
of Charles the Bald by Richelda, Pepin, Drogo, Louis, and Charles, all 
died young, and the last when his parents were in great distress. 3 

The domestic tyranny Judith had personally experienced could have 
left her little to seek of happiness in the French court, and from the 
nature of her union with Baldwin, it may be presumed that their marriage 
was a happy one. They were blessed with several children, and though 
Charles, their first-born, died in infancy, the second boy, named after his 
father (thought by some to have had the peculiarity of baldness which 
distinguished his grandfather the French King, from his surname), lived 

' Lingard. " Besides these, many good works are recorded of the Iron-Handed 
Forester, such as monasteries endowed and charities judiciously and generously 
bestowed. If not of regal or even noble birth, the nobility of good actions has 
conferred celebrity on his name, so that it matters little how historians differ as 
to his genealogical descent. Those, however, who are satisfied to leave the tra- 
ditions of the Flemings unnoticed, place this heroic chief, in their genealogies, as 
the son of Count Odoaire, son of Count Ingelrain, both hereditary Counts Forest- 
ers, whose epitaphs were to be seen, in the last century, cut on stone, at Bruges 
[Palgrave.] 

2 Anecdotes des Reines et Re"gentes de France. s Palgrave. 



334 JUDITH. 

to inherit the earldom as Baldwin "the Bald." When her first child 
died, " Judith sorrowed much, attributing it to the want of mother's milk, 
and she determined herself to nourish the next babe, named after its 
father. The Lieutenant Bailli, of Tournay, expatiates upon the maternal 
conduct of ' Madame Judith,' a reproach to the matronly luxury and self- 
indulgence of his times. Baldwin II.'s manly vigour did credit to his 
mother's tenderness : he afterwards had abundant locks of hair, though he 
called himself ' le Chauve,' in honour of his grandfather." ' Rudolf, his 
brother, become afterwards Count and Abbot of Cambray, which city, and 
the country surrounding, had been purchased by his father. 2 Gunadilde, 
daughter of Baldwin and Judith, married Wifred, Earl of Barcelona. 

Earl Baldwin I. is said to have given good laws to the people of Flan- 
ders, over whom he ruled sixteen years, and at his death was interred in 
the convent church of St. Bertin, at St. Omer's. 3 

Baldwin "the Bald," who succeeded his father, espoused Elstrude, a 
Saxon princess, daughter of Alfred the Great, and grand-daughter of 
Ethelwulf, the first husband of Judith. 4 Thus was, no doubt, revived 
the tie of affection and interest between the Princess of France and her 
pupil and companion in literature, King Alfred. Nor is it the least inte- 
resting point in the history of Judith and her family, that from the son 
of this marriage was derived, in the female line, our Norman race of kings; 
Matilda, Queen of William the Conqueror, being the immediate descendant 
of Arnold the Great, son of Baldwin the Bald and Elstrude of England. 
It is singular that though there were no children from the marriage of 
Judith and Ethelwulf, their descendants, in two distinct lines, should 
have so long ruled the realm' of England. 

The adventures of Judith, arranged according to the poet's fancy, are 
the subject of a curious poem, contained in a Collection of Ancient 
Ballads: 5 it is entitled "An excellent Ballad of a Prince of England's 
courtship to the King of France's Daughter, &c." (to the tune of < Crim- 
son Velvet'), and may interest the lover of antique traditions. 

The song begins by stating that, in the days of old, the Queen of 
France had a daughter who was " lovely faire," and that a Prince of Eng- 
land, exiled and outcast, yet noted for his merit, coming to her father's 
court, an attachment between him and the Princess ensued. The King 
disapproving the match, they agreed to escape together from thraldom. 

"The ladye soone prepared 

Her Jewells and her treasure : 
Having no regard 

For state and royal bloode 
In homely poore array, 
She went from court away, 

To meet her joye and heart's delight, 

1 Palgrave, Hist, of Normandy and England. 
a Hist, of the Earls of Flanders ; Ducarel's Norman Antiquities. 
3 Hist, of the Earls of Flanders. 4 Ducarel. 

« The editor gives it from an ancient folio MS., collated with another in black 
letter, in the Pepys Collection. 



JUDITH. 335 

"Who in a forest great 
Had taken up his seat, 

To wayt her coming in the night. 
But lo ! what sudden danger 
To this princely stranger : 

Chanced, as he sate alone ! 
By outlawes he was robbed, 
And with ponyards stabbed, 

Uttering many a dying grone." 

The Princess, "in her strange attire," escapes without recognition to the 
forest, only to find her royal lover weltering in his blood on the ground. 
She gives vent to the most passionate exclamation of grief, and endeavours, 
"with her golden haires," to staunch the wounds; but her efforts and 
prayers are alike useless. 

"All in vaine she sued, 
All in vaine she wooed ; 

The prince's life was fled and gone." 

Bewailing her own destiny, and her lover's hard fate, she passes the night 
in mourning over his remains, and resolves not to return to the court of 
her father. 

"To my father's court 
I return will never, 
But in lowly sort 
I will a servant bee." 

Whilst she is thus lamenting, a forester, all in green, coming by, inquires 
the cause of her affliction. She tells him her brother lies slain by her 
side, and requests him to direct her to some situation where she may 
obtain servile employment, in these words : — 

" 'Where may I remaine, 

Gentle for'ster shew me, 
Till I can obtaine 

A service in my neede ? 
Pains I will not spare. 

This kinde favour doe mee ; 
It will ease my care ; 

Heaven shall be thy meede.' 

" The for'ster, all amazed, 
On her beautye gazed 

Till his heart was set on fire. 
'If, faire maid,' quoth hee, 
' You will goe with mee, 

You shall have your heart's desire.' 
He brought her to his mother, 
And above all other 

He sett forth this maiden's praise. 
Long was his heart inflamed, 
At length her love he gained, 

And fortune crowned his future dayes. 

"Thus unknowne he wedde 

With a king's faire daughter: 
Children seven they had, 
Ere she told her birth ; 



JUDITH. 

Which when once he knew, 

Humbly he besought her, 
He to the world might shew 

Her rank and princely worth. 
He cloathed his children then 
(Not like other men) 

In partye colours strange to see. 
The right side cloth of gold, 
The left side to behold 

Of woollen cloth still framed hee. 
Men thereatt did wonder ; 
Golden fame did thunder 

This strange deed in every place. 
The King of France came hither, 
It being pleasant weather, 

In those woods the hart to chase. 

' The children then they bring — 

So their mother willed it — 
Where the royall king 

Must of force come bye. 
Their mother's riche array 

Was of crimson velvet ; 
Their father's all of gray, 

Seemelye to the eye. 

' Then this famous king, 
Noting everything, 

Asked how he durst be so bold 
To let his wife so weare, 
And decke his children there 

In costly robes of pearle and gold ? 
The forrester replying, 
And the cause descrying, 

To the king these words did say : 
'Well may they by their mother 
Weare rich clothes with other, 

Being by birth a princesse gay.' 

The king, aroused thus, 

More heedfullye beheld them, 
Till a crimson blush, 

His remembrance crost. 
'The more I fix my mind 

On thy wife and children, 
The more methinks I find 

The daughter which I lost. 
Falling on her knee, 
'I am that child,' quoth she; 

'Pardon me, my sovereign liege.' 
The King perceiving this, 
His daughter deare did kiss, 

While joyfull teares did stopp bis speeche. 
With his traine he tourned, 
And with them sojourned. 

Strait he dubbed her husband knight; 
Then made him Erie of Flanders, 
And chiefe of his commanders : 

Thus were their sorrowes put to flight." 



ELSWITHA, WIFE OF ALFRED THE GREAT, AND 
ETHELFLEDA, "LADY OF MERCIA." 

Romantic legend of the meeting of Alfred the Great and Elswitha — Albanac's 
f am ilv — The nocturnal visit — The daughters — The father's resolve — The choice 
offered — Marriage of Alfred and Elswitha— Sudden illness of the bridegroom — 
Connubial affection — Passage in Boethius — Famine in England — St. Swithun — 
Children of Elswitha — Her happiness, and fondness for her husband — Athelney 
— The Danes — Dangers — Generosity of Alfred — Monastery founded — Alfred's 
Will — Eadburga and Elswitha — St. Mary's, Newminster — Learning of Ethel- 
fleda — Lady of Mercia — Her numerous fortresses — The captive Welsh Queen — 
Fleance, son of Banquo — Ancient Welsh customs — Candle-bearer's perquisites 
— Death of Ethelfleda — Mourned by King Edward — Elfwina dispossessed by 
her uncle — Ethelfleda buried in St. Peter's, Gloucester. 

A singularly romantic legendary account exists of the first intro- 
duction of Alfred the Great to his future consort Elswitha. Alfred, like 
Haroun al Kaschid, was fond of visiting and informing himself of the 
condition of every class of his subjects. On one occasion he set out, 
accompanied by a courtier named Ethelbert, and in his rambles stopped 
at the house of Albanac, a chieftain of rank and power, whose name 
would indicate his descent to have been rather British than Saxon. This 
nobleman received his sovereign with welcome, and his wife and three 
daughters, all of whom were extremely beautiful, attended on him, as 
was the custom. The dignified deportment of Elswitha, one of the young 
Saxon ladies, and the grace and elegance of her person, eclipsed that of 
her sisters at supper, when waiting upon the King. Alfred was much 
attracted with her charms, and praised her beauty in glowing terms. The 
impression made upon him was observed by Albanac, who, when the 
company separated for the night, communicated his suspicions to his wife. 
The King, on his part, at retiring, had confided to Ethelbert his admira- 
tion of Elswitha, who, with a courtier's tact, approved of his choice. 
Next morning, when day broke, Albanac presented himself at the door 
of his royal guest, requesting immediate admittance. The King bade 
him enter ; on which, to his surprise, he beheld Albanac, with a drawn 
sword in his hand, conducting his three daughters, who, clad in the 
deepest mourning, seemed overwhelmed with the most poignant distress. 
" What is it I see V exclaimed Alfred. "A father," returned Albanac, 
"whose honour is more dear to him than life itself. You are my King, 
and lam your subject, but not your slave. You are well acquainted 
with my illustrious ancestors, and it is now proper you should kuow my 
sentiments. Last night you discovered a particular attention to my 
daughter. If you have conceived the idea of dishonouring my house, 
29 w (337) 



dob E L S W I T H A . 

you see the sword that shall in an instant sacrifice these unhappy victims, 
willing to sacrifice themselves; but if a pure flame is kindled in your 
breast, my alliance will not disgrace the crown : choose, therefore, and 
name her that is born to such distinguished honour !" 

This somewhat abrupt proceeding, the legend goes on to say, did not 
displease Alfred, who, appreciating the noble and daring courage of the 
father of Elswitha, immediately professed his readiness to make her his 
wife, and she was soon afterwards Queen. That the King had chosen 
his partner wisely, was proved by subsequent events. Elswitha was vir- 
tuous and amiable, and inspired her noble husband with a lasting affec- 
tion for her. 

It is a subject of pleasing contemplation to trace the feelings of Alfred 
on the subject of connubial affection, which appears from his writings, 
wherein he expresses himself in terms of enthusiasm. A passage in 
Boethius, translated by Alfred, runs thus : some additions to the original 
being made by the King, these are given in italics : — ' 

" Liveth not thy wife also ! She is exceedingly prudent and very 
modest. She has excelled all other women in purity. I may, in a few 
words, express all her merit ; this is, that in all her manners she is like 
her father. She lives now for thee, thee alone. Hence, she loves naught 
else but thee. She has enough of every good in this present life, but she 
has despised it all for thee alone. She has shunned it all, because only 
she has not thee also. This one thing is now wanting to her. Thine 
absence makes her think that all which she possesses is nothing. Hence 
for thy love she is wasting, and full nigh dead with tears and sorrow." 
" Alfred dwells on the ' vivat tibi' of Boethius with manifest delight, 
and dilates upon the thought as if with fond recollections of the conduct 
of his own wife, who shared his adversity with him." 

Such legends as these are valuable as showing the habits and manners 
of the times, and prove how lawless and turbulent they were, when no 
confidence was placed in the honour of those the highest in power, when 
their gratification was at stake. Alfred himself was superior to the 
period at which he lived, and a few years afterwards suspicion would not 
have fallen on him; but at this time, he was only just come to the crown, 
and, being still very young, had not as yet had an opportunity of proving 
to his subjects his rare and remarkable worth. 2 

The real history of his marriage is merely that his wife Elswitha was 
the daughter of Ethelfrid, 3 surnamed Mucil, Ealdorman of Mercia ; and 
that her mother was nobly born, being Edburga of the royal house of 
Mercia. Alfred was just twenty when he married, and during the nup- 
tial festivities, which lasted several days, he was seized with an alarming 
malady, from which, it is said, "he enjoyed scarcely a day's respite 
during more than twenty years of his useful and active life." 4 

Pie never, however, allowed the acute pain of his malady to interfere 

1 Sharon Turner. 

2 Lingard, however, alludes to opinions of his character in early life, which 
probably accounts for the suspicions of Mucil : he quotes St. Neot and Asser. 

5 Lingard. 4 Lappenberg. 



ELSWITHA. 339 

with his manly resolution ; and by the force of his extraordinary will, 
contrived to master his bodily sufferings, which are, indeed, said rather 
to have strengthened his mental energy. 

The year of Elswitha's marriage, A. D. 868, was noted for a terrible 
famine, felt in all parts of Europe, so that in some places the living are said 
to have fed upon the bodies of the dead ! And it is further said, that this 
famine was followed, in 869, " by a great mortality of man and beast." 
The tutor both of Alfred and his father, Swithun, Bishop of Winches- 
ter, died at this time, and desired to be buried in the open churchyard, 
instead of the chancel of the minster, where the ashes of the great re- 
posed, "that the drops of rain might wet his grave; thinking that no 
vault was so good to cover his grave as that of heaven." The popular 
Scottish proverb and superstition contained in the following lines, proba- 
bly arose from the expression he used : — 

" Saint Swithin's Day, if thou dost rain, 
For forty days it will remain ; 
Saint Swithin's Day, if thou be fair, 
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair." 

Asser, who frequently saw the mother of Elswitha, calls her a vene- 
rable woman, "illustrious and pious," and from the time of her hus- 
band's decease, she had ever lived the life of a true widow. 1 

Elswitha had five children, Edward the Elder, Ethelwold, Ethelfleda, 
Ethelgitha, and Elswitha, of each of whom some account will be given. 
Besides these she had several who died in infancy, one of whom, Ed- 
mund, had been intended by Alfred for his successor on the throne. 
Elswitha was deeply attached to her husband, and to judge from his 
character, her own conduct, and the merits of her family, she was not 
only a good wife, but a happy mother 

The companion of Alfred in prosperity, Elswitha shared with him his 
adverse fortunes. At a moment when almost every friend and adherent 
had forsaken the King, we find him contriving the ereation of a fortress, 
in a place of security, his first object being to remove Elswitha and her 
children to a spot free from danger, which he happily succeeded in effect- 
ing. After nine successive years spent in bravely encountering those fierce 
enemies of England, the Danes, Alfred retreated for temporary security 
into the little isle of Athelney, 2 a spot of rising ground on the north side 
of Stanmoor, bounded on the north-west by the river Thone, over which 
there is a wooden bridge, still called Athelney Bridge. "Alfred built a 
castle in Athelney, and made it a very strong hold, and forcing a way 
unto it by a bridge or causey ; for guard of the way, he built on either 
side a tower." This ever-memorable place was anciently environed with 
almost impassible marshes and morasses, and could only be approached 
by a boat : 3 it had, moreover, a very large wood of alders, which har- 
boured stags, wild goats, and other beasts." Such was the place of 
refuge of the King and Queen and their children, who lodged in a small 

1 Sharon Turner. 

s A contraction of the Saxon word, meaning "Isle of Nobles." 

5 Malmesbury. 



340 ELS WIT HA. 

Louse belonging to St. Athelwine, formerly a hermit there, son of King 
Kinigilfus. 1 

During this period of adversity, it is on record that Alfred experienced 
many privations, one of the greatest being the want of provisions : 
so that of a severe winter, which set in under such unfavourable cir- 
cumstances for the royal family, a characteristic tale is told. The 
King's attendants were one day out on the perilous expedition of fish- 
ing, for the Danes were near, — a requisite duty to provide for the 
daily necessity, from which Alfred and Elswitha were alone exempted. 
The King employed himself with reading, the Queen with her domes- 
tic occupations. At this moment a poor pilgrim, passing the gate, im- 
plored the monarch for a morsel of food. Alfred, calling to Elswitha, 
requested her to give the man a portion of her provision. It is said that 
their whole store consisted of but one loaf, and the equally humane 
Queen hesitated a moment in the act of charity. Alfred, however, was 
not to be deterred by any selfish consideration from his generous purpose. 
He readily bestowed the half of his slender store on the mendicant, con- 
soling himself and his Queen with the reflection, that the benevolent hand 
which could supply the necessities of five thousand with but five loaves 
and two fishes, would doubtless provide for their future wants. Satis- 
faction and resignation accompanied this beneficent action, which was 
rewarded by the speedy return of their companions, laden with an ample 
store of provisions. 2 

After Alfred quitted this retreat, and had subdued his enemies, he 
Founded on the spot a monastery for Benedictine monks, to commemorate 
his gratitude to Heaven for the shelter it had afforded to himself and his 
family : this religious foundation was liberally endowed both by Alfred 
and his successors on the throne. 3 

Elswitha enjoyed the society of her beloved and excellent husband for 

1 Biog. Brit. 

2 Spelman relates the story of the pilgrim as of his mother, not his wife, though 
he thinks it was the latter who was with the King ; Judith having returned into 
France, and Osburga being dead. After the deed of charity, the King, falling 
asleep, dreamt of St. Cuthbert, who came to announce to him, in reward of his 
charity, that he should be restored to his kingdom, and that his servants would 
speedily return with abundance of fish. His mother, who also had fallen asleep, 
was called by the King, who declared his dream to her, and learnt she had dreamt 
the same thing, which, while they were yet busy recounting to each other, was 
in part realised by the return of their attendants. — Spelman. 

3 A jewel of gold, enamelled like a bulla or amulet, to hang round the neck, 
circumscribed, in Saxon characters, " Alfred ordered me to be made," was found 
there. It is now in the Ashmolean Museum. An engraving of it may be seen 
in Gough's Camden (70). — Turner. 

The monastery Alfred built in Athelney was of wood. It was borne upon four 
main wooden pillars, and enclosed round about with cancellings or chancel-work ; 
they having not then the use of glass, nor other means to shut out the violence 
of weather, and yet let in sufficient light, than by fine open-work carvings, and 
lattices of window-work, of which (to express the curiosity) Malmesbury says 
that they were carved opere sphcerico. According to Spelman (see notes), there 
were four cancells, choirs, or chapells, surrounding the area or auditory of the 
church. — Spelman, Life of Alfred, p. 166. 



ELSWITHA. 341 

nearly twenty-eight years : ' the two last which preceded his death, which 
occurred A. D. 900, were marked by a great increase of suffering from the 
malady by wbich he was afflicted. 2 During the latter part of their union, 
the royal pair, hand in hand, restored and patronized many female reli- 
gious communities. The nunnery at Shaftesbury was founded by the 
King, and when completed, Alfred placed in it his daughter Ethelgive, 
who assumed the government of the infant establishment, while several 
females of the first distinction hastened to profess themselves her 
disciples. 3 

Elswitha herself founded the Abbey of St. Mary, at Winchester, 
aided, as some say, by the King. This edifice, known also as Nunna- 
minstre, or the New Minstre, was situated in the east part of the city, 
on the north side of the cathedral, with which it was parallel ; but from 
the unhealthiness of its situation, and too great proximity to the ca- 
thedral, was afterwards removed to Hyde Meadows. 

King Egbert had entailed his estates, by his will, on his male de- 
scendants, to the exclusion of females : " to the spear-side and not to the 
spindle-side." Ethelwulf, his son, after making his second son Ethelbert 
King of Kent, bequeathed at his death to the remaining three, certain 
lands, which were to come eventually to the survivor. Alfred, surviving 
his two elder brothers, made a new agreement, that the survivor should 
enjoy the personal estate of the other, and with it the lands bequeathed 
by Ethelwulf. Before, however, Alfred's will was made, he assembled 
the Thanes of Wessex, at Langdon, " lest any one should say that I had 
defrauded my kinsfolk ;" for by the same agreement it had been stipu- 
lated with Ethelred, that all real property, acquired by grant or purchase, 
should be left to the nephews of the survivor. "Wherefore Alfred's will 
states, that if any of the lands which he left to females had descended 
to him from Egbert, he desired his heirs male to take the lands, and give 
to the females an equivalent in money. The Saxon Thanes having ap- 
proved the King's title to the property, the following day he divided his 
lands among his two sons, his three daughters, his two nephews, his 
cousin Osferth, and his wife Elswitha. To each of his sons he left five 
hundred pounds ; and to the Queen and the three Princesses, her daugh- 
ters, four hundred pounds each, at that time no inconsiderable sum of 
money. 4 Besides these, he left certain sums to his ealdormen, servants, 
and bishops; fifty mancuses of gold to fifty priests, fifty to the poor min- 
isters of God, fifty to poor people in distress, and fifty to the church 
in which he should be buried. 5 To Queen Elswitha he also bequeathed 
three towns ; Wantage, the birth-place of Alfred, was one of these, where 
stood a palace of the Saxon Kings. 6 The manor of Ethandune, 7 with 
other Berkshire lands, were also mentioned in the will of Alfred as left 
to Queen Elswitha. She had also other property, some of which was 
bestowed by herself on Glastonbury, and afterwards confirmed to that 
church by King Edgar. 8 

1 Speed. 3 Walter Raleigh. ' Lingard. 

* Biog. Brit. ' Lingard. s Lysons's Mag. Brit. 

1 Eddington, near Hungerford. — Lysons. 

6 'Whichcomb — the name of which signifies " the Valley of Battle," given, in 
29* 



342 E L S W I T II A . 

On the death of Alfred, Queen Elswitha retired to the Abhey of St. 
Mary, Winchester. Eadburga, daughter of Edward the Elder, was 
abbess of this establishment, which followed the Benedictine rule, and 
was so popular that her name as patroness of the abbey was joined to 
that of the Virgin Mary, to whom it was dedicated. Elswitha, admiring 
the virtues of her grand-daughter Eadburga, and also witnessing the 
tranquillity enjoyed by her daughter the Abbess of Shaftesbury, resolved 
to pass her declining years in religious seclusion. In the establishment 
and society of the Abbess Eadburga she died, A. D. 904, having survived 
her excellent husband only four years. 

The remains of King Alfred were at first interred in the Cathedral of 
Winchester ; and we learn from Asser that a magnificent monument of 
precious porphyry was erected to his honour, who was renowned as " the 
truth-teller" — one of the most noble of all characteristics in either sove- 
reign or subject. 1 In compliance with his father's will Edward the Elder 
caused the edifice of Newminster to be completed, and it was consecrated 
on the advent of St. Judoc, A. D. 903, being at the first only a house and 
chapel for the learned monk Grimbald. The foundation and chief parts 
of the building had been laid and built by Alfred during his life, and 
Grimbald, the first to set the King to the undertaking, was designed by 
him to be the first Abbot. The monastery was situated on the north side 
of Winchester Cathedral, with which it was parallel, and there wanted 
room for some of its parts : it was placed so near the cathedral that the 
singing-men in the choir of the one were easily heard into the choir of 
the other, and this gave occasion of many differences about it. The place 
being so " straight and hard to be enlarged, the King was fain to pay the 
Bishop a mark of gold for every foot of land which he was forced to buy, 
that he might have commodity sufficient for the shops or work-houses for 
his monks' offices 2 belonging to the monastery. 3 

Edward the Elder, on the completion of the structure, placed in it 
secular canons, under St. Grimbald as abbot; 4 after which he caused the 
remains of his father, King Alfred, to be conveyed thither, with solemn 
pomp and magnificence, from the adjacent cathedral. The body, also, of 
Queen Elswitha, which had been at first entombed in St. Mary's Abbey, 
Newminster, was also, by his orders, conveyed thither, to be deposited 
with that of her husband. It was not, however, ordained that they 
should repose on this spot of their own selection ; its contiguity to Win- 
chester Cathedral, and unhealthiness of the situation, caused the subse- 
quent removal of the religious establishment to Hyde Meadows, without 
the city, in the reign of Henry I., at which period it was known as St. 

a. d. 965, to Glastonbury, by Queen Elswitha — was still in the hands of the 
monks of that establishment at the time of the Norman survey. 

The Saxon Queen, says Turner, "had her separate property; for, in a gift of 
land, she gives fifteen mancuses, calling them a part of the land of her own 
power. She had also officers peculiar to her household ; for the persons with 
whose consent and testimony she made the grant, are called her nobles." 

1 Asser says this tomb was erected in St. Peter's, Winchester. 

2 Annals of Winchomb, 905. 

Speiman. ' Butler. 



ETHELFLEDA. 843 

Grimbald's Monastery. The learned Beauclerc and his Saxon Queen 
Maude, the descendant of Alfred and Elswitha, in whom were united the 
interests of the Norman and Saxon cause, attended in person the removal 
of the bones of that king and queen to the new edifice of Hyde Abbey. 
The monks of St. Grimbald's, in solemn procession on the occasion, car- 
ried with them the relics of three saints, as well as the remains of Alfred 
and Elswitha. During the civil war of 1142, Hyde Abbey was burnt to 
the ground, and a great part of its treasures perished in the flames : the 
edifice was, however, rebuilt in the reign of Henry II., and restored to 
its former rank and splendour, which it retained till the destruction of 
religious houses at the Reformation, at which period it was reduced to a 
heap of ruins. 1 

Ethelfleda, the first-born of Alfred's children by Queen Elswitha, was 
esteemed the most learned, as she was the most remarkable, woman of 
her time, and singularly distinguished for masculine spirit and abilities. 
This princess conferred on her country many benefits; and her prompti- 
tude and valour saved it more than once from those rapacious ravagers, 
the Danes. In talent she more nearly resembled her glorious father than 
any of his children ; and equally to her mother was she indebted for 
those noble qualities which made her illustrious. At a very early age, 
Ethelfleda was married to Ethelred, Earl of Mercia, who, being in an 
infirm state of health, was frequently prevented attending to the care of 
government. His place was, on these occasions, well supplied by his 
wise and learned consort, whose great foresight and prudence in the con- 
duct of public affairs were acknowledged from the first. There are 
records extant which prove that she took part even in her father's 
councils. 

After Alfred's death, Edward the Elder bestowed anew on his sister 
and her husband conjointly, or perhaps only confirmed, the government 
of Mercia, with the title of " Subregulus Merciorum" to the Earl. Ac- 
cordingly in an instrument of Werfred, Bishop of "Worcester, to that church, 
made A. n. 904, the royal couple are both together styled in the Saxon 
tongue JEthred, the Alderman or Duke, and Ethelfled, the Lords of 
Mercia. A period of twenty-four years must have elapsed between the 
date of this charter and the one first mentioned. Other charters granted 
'by this priucess bear her signature alone, thus, " Ego Ethelfled consensi." 

Ethelfleda's piety, according to the opinion of that time was great. 
After the birth of a daughter, she resolved to devote herself solely to a 
life of heroism and the care of her country's good, instead of indulging 
in the happiness of maternity; and her husband, sickly and weak both 
in mind and body, did not oppose her will. She, therefore, threw off all 
the weakness of her sex from that time, and appears in history rather as 
a general than as a mother or wife. She founded monasteries, as one at 
Gloucester testifies, and it was there that Ethelred, dying, was entombed, 
in 912. 

1 In our own times, the site of the building where Alfred and Elswitha rested, 
gives place to the county Bridewell, a few remnants marking the antiquity of the 
hallowed spot. 



344 ETHELFLEDA. 

After his death, conjointly with her brother, Edward the Elder, she 
exerted all her energies to repel the Danes, and by her counsels and acts 
greatly aided the King. 

As soon as Ethelfleda became a widow, Edward made a partition of 
Mercia, apparently with her full consent, annexing London and Oxford 
to his own dominions of Wessex, and committing the other portion of the 
government to her care. 1 From this time till her death, a period of eight 
years, Ethelfleda held sovereign rule with the title of Lady of Mercia, 
and the extraordinary martial talents she exhibited during this season of 
power procured her the honourable titles not only of " Queen," but of 
" King" also, as if those of Countess-lady, which she possessed, were in- 
adequate to express her heroism. 

Her attention was chiefly directed to the necessity of erecting fortresses 
in different parts of the kingdom, to prevent the Danes from extending 
their territory, and of checking their inroads ; for many fastnesses had 
fallen into the hands of those dangerous intruders, who could thus hold 
the whole country in fear and subjection. At Hereford, and at Witham in 
Essex, Edward built strong places ; and in the same year of her becoming 
a widow, the Saxon Chronicle records that Ethelfleda, " on the Holy Eve 
called the Invention of the Holy Cross," came to Shergate, and built the 
fortress there, and another at Bridgenorth in the same year. A monas- 
tery, dedicated to St. Barnabas, was likewise founded by the " Lady of 
Mercia," at Brunnesburgh, 2 that year, which shortly after fell to decay. 

One of the royal palaces of King Offa was at Tamworth, whence many 
charters of succeeding sovereigns were dated. This town became, in 913, 
the residence of Ethelfleda, who restored it from the ruinous condition in 
which it had been placed by the incursions of the Danes. She erected a 
tower there, " in the fore part of the summer," says the Chronicle, on 
the artificial mount upon which the present castle stands. In the same 
year, before Lammas, "the Lady of Mercia," built a fortress at Stafford; 
this being the first authentic record given of that town. 

Early in the summer of 914, Ethelfleda built a fortress at Eddesbury, 
and late in the autumn of that year, another at Warwick. Dugdale, who 
refers the foundation of Warwick Castle to Ethelfleda, tells us that there 
was a mound of the same form there, and with terraces similar to that of 
Durham Castle. In 915, Ethelfleda caused the dungeon of Warwick 
Castle to be made, which is a strong tower or platform, upon a large and 
high mount of earth, artificially raised (such being usually placed towards 
the side of a castle or fort which is least defensible), the substance 
whereof is yet to be seen. 

In 915, "after mid-winter," was built the fortress of Cherburg, and 
that at Warburton ; and the same year, before mid-winter, one at Run- 
corn, 3 also the town of Warham, and Fadesbury, both named by Roger 
of Wendover. 

1 Bromton, Leland, Dugdale. 2 In Cheshire. 

' Runcorn, in Cheshire, on the banks of the Mersey, was originally built by 
the renowned Ethelfleda. The river here suddenly contracts from a considerable 
breadth to a narrow channel, by a projecting point of land from the Lancashire 



ETHELFLEDA. 345 

In those days there -were very few defensible places, such as we now 
call castles, which rendered it very difficult for the English to defend 
themselves from the incursions of foreign invaders; a defect which gave 
great advantages to William of Normandy, who was so sensible of the fact, 
that after the victory of Hastings, he neglected not to raise "a sufficient 
store of forts throughout the realm." ' Ethelfleda had, before the Nor- 
man Prince, perceived the danger which this deficiency caused in Eng- 
land, and her exertions in this respect, to defend the country from the 
Danes, cannot be too highly appreciated. Ingulphus justly observes of 
this Princess, who, by some one is styled a " restorer of the brick," that in 
respect of the fortresses she built, and the armies she managed, she might 
have been thought a man." 

Ethelfleda exerted herself successfully against the Welsh, preventing 
them coming to the aid of the Danes. This glorious achievement was 
accomplished in 916, when " the Lady of Mercia," at the head of a large 
army, entered "Wales, and stormed Brecknock, where she took the 
" King's wife," and thirty-four of her attendants, prisoners. 2 This event, 
by which the Welsh became tributary to Mercia, occurred within three 
nights of the feast of St. Cirisius, and in Wales was called "Gwaithy 
Dinas Newydd," or "the Battle of the New City." The object of 
Ethelfleda, in this expedition, was to punish the Welsh for having put to 
death the innocent Abbot Egbert. 

The Queen whom Ethelfleda made her captive, was Angharad, the 
wife of Owen. The name she bore was correspondent to the English 
word Anne, and was exceedingly popular in Wales, three other Queens 
being distinguished by it, all worthy of notice. The first Angharad was 
Queen of Boderic the Great, and mother of three princes, among whom 
that monarch divided his dominions prior to his decease, building for 
each, in his peculiar district, a royal residence ; from which time the 
brothers were known as " the three crowned Princes," each wearing, on 
his helmet, a coronet of gold, or broad head-band, indented upwards, and 
set and wrought with precious stones. 3 The only daughter of Meredith, 

side; and opposite Paincorn-gap, as the above strait is denominated, Ethelfleda 
erected a castle to defend this extremity of her vast domain. 

"Not a vestige of this building can be seen; but its site is marked by the 
name of (he castle, given to a triangular piece of land, surrounded with a mound 
of earth, jutting out into the river, guarded on the water-side by ledges of rocks 
and broken precipices, and cut off from the land by a ditch six yards in width. 
The parochial church stands above the Castle-rock: its foundation was probably 
coeval with the castle, but was certainly prior to the Conquest, since Nigel, Baron 
of Halton, bestowed it on his brother Wolfrith, a priest, in the time of the Con- 
queror." — Brittou and Brayley. 

"When Alfred repaired and restored the different castles which had been de- 
molished by the Danes, he, for the first time, built of stone many of those which 
had formerly been constructed of earth: of this number was Norwich Castle. 
"Alfred's Castle" there was afterwards entirely destroyed by the Danish King, 
Sweyn, father of Canute the Great." 

« Dugdale, Saxon Chronicle. a Powel, Caradoc of Llancarvan. 

" Sax. Chron., Caradoc of Llan: " Y Tri Tywysoc Talaethice" (the three band- 
let-wearing princes). 



346 ETHELFLEDA. 

son of the Queen Angharad, whom EthelfiVda captured, bore her grand- 
mother's name, and married the ambitious Llewelyn ap Seisyllt, who, in 
her right, mounted the throne A. D. 1003, and, as he afterwards added 
North Wales to his dominions, united the three principalities which 
Roderic had divided among his sons, from one of whom, in fact, he 
claimed his descent. 

Both the houses of Tudor and Stuart have been derived from Roderic 
the Great ; the wife of Rhys ap Twdwr, ancestor of Owen Tudor, the 
father of Henry VII., being descended from Angharad, Queen of Lle- 
welyn ap Seisyllt, by a second marriage with Cynfyn Hirdref. The 
house of Stuart is derived from Nesta, 1 grand-daughter of Angharad ; her 
parents being Griffith ap Llewelyn and Ranulf. Fleance, son of the 
Banquo murdered by Macbeth, sought safety and shelter in the court of 
Griffith, in North Wales, but returned the kind reception there given him 
by the seduction of the Princess Nesta, or Agnes, who gave birth to a 
son, named Walter. 2 Fleance paid the forfeit of his life for his breach of 
faith, and the unfortunate Princess was reduced, by her father's orders, to 
a condition of servitude. The misfortunes of his parents were much felt 
by their son Walter, whose temper was violent, as is shown by the man- 
ner in which he resented insult. Being one day reproached with his 
ignoble origin by a young man with whom he had quarrelled, he killed 
him on the spot. To protect himself from punishment, he fled to Scot- 
land, where he succeeded in obtaining a post among the English attend- 
ants of Margaret, Queen of Malcolm, and conducted himself so well, that 
he was soon advanced in the royal favour, and became steward of Scot- 
land, and receiver of the revenues of the realm. 3 From the office held 
by Walter, he derived the surname of Stewart, and his descendants bore 
the same ; not only the royal house of Stuart, but many noble Scottish 
families are derived from this source. 

It may be thought curious to mention here some of the ancient Welsh 
customs as concerned their Queens. 

The Queen had, by the laws of Wales, a fine for saraad, or offence, 
which might be committed three ways : — 

Firstly : " When her protection shall be violated," that is, " the right 
to conduct beyond the bounds of the country, without pursuit and with- 
out obstruction." 

Secondly : " When she shall be struck in anger j" or, 

Thirdly : " W T hen a thing shall be forcibly taken out of her hand." 

The fine for this very unmanly treatment of a crowned head was to be 
only "one-third of the King's saraad, the gold and silver excepted. 
Now, the fine for the King's saraad was as follows : — " One hundred 
kine ; a silver rod, with three knobs at the top, and three at the bottom, 
which shall reach from the ground to the King's face, when he shall sit 
in his chair, and as thick as his ring-finger; and a golden cup, which shall 

' Nesta is used in Wales for the Greek Agnes : in the Greek, it means chaste. 
The French write it Ignatia. — Camden's Remains. 

The same name applied to a man is exemplified in that of Ignatius Loyola. 
2 Caradoc, Lluyd. 3 Warrington. 



ETHELFLEDA. 



347 



hold the King's full draught, and as thick as the nail of a ploughman, 
when he has ploughed seven years; and a gold cover, as broad as the 
King's face, and as thick as the edge of the cup." Now, as the gold 
and silver was to be excepted in the fine for the Queen's " saraad," the 
value of little more than thirty-three cows was all the compensation that 
she was entitled to for the insults above named. 

The Queen occupies a low station, also, in the arrangements made for 
the interior of the palace. Every one of the King's officers has an ap- 
propriate place in the hall, but the King's wife occupies her solitary 
chamber, 1 where she is waited upon by a single attendant hand-maiden ; 
a steward, "who is to serve her in her chamber with meat and drink ;" 
and a page, " who is to convey messages between the chamber and the 
hall, keep the keys of her coffers, and supply the chamber," and two or 
three inferior attendants : " and it is further enacted, that when the Queen 
shall will a song in her chamber, let the bard sing a song respecting Cam- 
Ian, 2 and that not loud, lest the hall be disturbed." So that it would 
seem her enjoyments were to be considered only as second to those of her 
guests and subjects, who assembled to carouse over their meal. 

Among the inferior attendants of the Queen, one was a candle-bearer, 
whose pleasant perquisite is to be " all the tops he shall bite off the can- 
dles, also the broken bread and fragments that fall over the Queen's 
dish." 

No female domestic seems to have been employed in the King's house- 
hold, except the Queen's handmaiden, the baking-woman, and the laun- 
dress. These last two were allowed the right of protection, — the baking- 
woman as far as she could throw her kneading-bat, the laundress as far 
as she could throw her washing-beetle. 

These laws, generally speaking, place the value of every ordinary 
woman at one-third of that of her husband, and arrange that, in cases 
of separation by mutual consent, the joint property should be fairly 
shared between them. 

" If husband and wife separate, the husband has the swine and the 
sheep ; if only one kind, to be shared. Goats are to the husband. Of 
the children, the eldest and youngest to the husband, the middlemost to 
the wife. The household furniture to be shared, but the milking-vessels, 
except the pail, to the wife ; the husband, the drinking-vessels and riddle ; 
the wife, the sieve. The husband has the upper stone of the hand-mill ; 
the wife, the lower one. The upper garments are the wife's ; the under- 
garments, the husband's; and the kettle, coverlet, bolster, fuel, axe, settle, 
and all the hooks except one, the pan, trivet, axe, bill, ploughshare, flax, ' 
linseed, wool, and the house-bag, to the wife ; if any gold, it is to be 
shared between them. The husband to have the corn above the ground 
and under, and the barn, the poultry, and one of the cats ; the rest to 
the wife. To the wife, the meat in the brine, and the cheese in the brine ; 
those hung up belong to the husband. The butter, meat, and cheese, in cut, 

1 In Brittany, even at the present day, the wife is the least cared for of the 
family, and is expected to attend on the others. 

2 The battle in which Arthur fell. 



348 ETHELFLEDA. 

belong to the wife ; also, as much meal as she can carry between her arms 
and knees, from the store-room to the house. Their apparel to be divided." 1 

" The wife had an exclusive right to her jewellery and wearing ap- 
parel," and the wife of a "privileged or free man might lend her under 
garment, mantle, headcloth, and shoes, without consent of her husband, 
and can give meat and drink unrestrictedly, and can lend the furniture. 
The wife of the ' taeog/ or bondsman, could only lend her head-covering, 
and of her houshold utensils, only her sieve and riddle ; and these, but 
at, the distance she can be heard calling, with her feet on the threshold. 
The reasons for these restrictions, in regard to the wife of the bondsman, 
was probably owing to the fact that the household goods, and even the 
clothing, were the property of the bondsman's master." 2 

On the capture of Queen Angharad, the Welsh King, Owen, fled to 
Derby, where he was kindly received by the Danes. Ethelfleda, apprised 
of this, followed Owen thither with her army; and in 918, the Saxon 
Chronicle informs us, that " with the help of God, before Lammas," she 
conquered that city, with all that thereto belonged. The Queen, on this 
memorable occasion, had nearly lost her life through her heroism. Speed 
compares her to Zenobia, saying, that her person was in the greatest 
danger when endeavouring to enter the gate, multitudes of the Danes 
resisting her progress ; she, however, persevered and succeeded in enter- 
ing the town, though many of her officers fell in the encounter, and four 
of her warriors, who guarded her royal person, and were most dear to her, 
were slain when fightiug by her side, by Owen, the Welsh King; 3 a cir- 
cumstance which was to her "a cause of sorrow." Caradoc, describing 
this struggle, says, that when Gwyane, Lord of the Isle of Ely, Ethel- 
fleda's steward, perceived the Queen's danger, he set fire to the gates, and 
rushing furiously on the Britons, entered the town ; on which, Owen, 
finding he was overmatched, chose rather to fall by the sword, than cow- 
ardly to yield himself to a woman. Boadicea appears revived in this 
account. 

The year 920 witnessed the recovery of Leicester and York from her 
enemies, the Danes. Leicester was taken early in the year, without loss, 
and the greater part of the army that belonged to it, submitted to her 
At this period the character of Ethelfleda again reminds us forcibly of 
her illustrious father. The historian of the city of Leicester 4 says, "she 
relieved in many places the distresses of mankind, which the horrors of 
war had made miserable. The city of Leicester she beheld with the 
tenderest compassion, which had been honoured by a royal residence, but 
whose beauty and strength had fallen to decay by the annihilating power 
of war. Its miserable inhabitants she succoured ; its wasted dwellings 
she bade to rise from their ruinous heaps in pleasing order. She repaired 
its fortifications, and built a wall that encompassed the city, of such 
amazing strength that it is called by Matthew Paris indissoluble. " The 
foundation of the wall is discoverable in many places at this day; and 

1 Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, p. 38. 

2 Miss Lawrence's History of Woman in England. 

3 Saxon Chronicle. 4 Thoresby. 



ETHELFLEDA. 349 

such is the tenacity of the mortar, that whenever the inhabitants of Lei- 
cester have occasion to remove any part of the foundation, the stones of 
which it was built are found almost inseparable." 

After the reduction of Derby by Ethelfleda, the Yorkists promised, and 
confirmed, some by agreement, and some with oaths, that they would be 
in her interest. 1 On the submission of York, the independent organisa- 
tion of the " Seven Burghs " was broken up. 2 

After an eight years' reign, and many glorious acts, Ethelfleda died at 
Tamworth. This event, which occurred twelve nights before midsum- 
mer, 920, was felt by the public, who loved and venerated her, as tbeir 
own private loss, and deeply mourned by King Edward, who, at the time 
deprived him of this beloved sister and faithful ally, was staying at Stam- 
ford. Directly the intelligence of the death of Ethelfleda reached him, 
the King rode to Tamworth, where he received the allegiance of all the 
people of Mercia. Not only the subjects of Ethelfleda rendered homage 
to Edward, but the three Kings of North Wales sought him for their 
lord ; and on his proceeding to Nottingham, which he secured and forti- 
fied, all the Mercians there, whether Danish or English, espoused his 
cause. Thus the influence of the royal Lady of Mercia, even after her 
death, procured for her brother the universal homage of those tribes whom 
she had compelled to acknowledge her power. 

A share of power for a time was permitted by Edward to rest in the 
hands of Elfwina, only child of Ethelfleda, who had been formerly placed 
by her mother under the King's guardianship, 3 but of this she was after- 
wards deprived by Edward, on the plea that she had promised marriage 
to Reynold, the Danish King, "without his knowledge." Whether or 
not this was a true charge, the Princess was "deprived of all authority," 4 
and conveyed as an honourable captive into Wessex. Her imprisonment 
took place " about three weeks before mid-winter," so that the duration 
of her power was short. From this time the name of Ethelfleda's 
daughter disappears from English history, Mercia being annexed by 
Edward to his own dominions. Caradoc of Llancarvan considers that 
Edward's unjust conduct to his niece brought upon him the troubles 
which followed in his kingdom. Turner, however, remarks that, in the 
latter part of Edward's reign, a peculiar spirit seemed to have excited the 
Anglo- Danes; an argument in favour of Edward having been obliged to 
act as he did from motives of personal security, and to defend himself 
from the danger of Elfwina's directing her power against the security of 
the State. 

The remains of Ethelfleda were deposited in St. Peter's, Gloucester, in 
the southern porch, where they were discovered in the time of Arch- 
bishop Thurstan, on the occasion of the foundations of the church being 

1 Saxon Chronicle. 

a The Five Burghs were "Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Stam- 
ford. Chester and York could only be joined in a more direct alliance ; but when 
there was a common action among them, they were called the ' Seven Burghs.' " 

3 Caradoc of Llancarvan. 4 Saxon Chronicle, Palgrave. 

30 



350 ETHELFLEDA. 

enlarged. 1 The following lines are translated from Henry of Hunting- 
don on the fact of the contemporaries of this princess honouring her with 
the title of King : — 

" Mighty Elfleda! maiden, thou should'st bear 

The name of Man : — though Nature cast thy frame 
In Woman's softer mould — yet he could fear 

Thy matchless might ! Let him resign his claim, 
And, maiden, do thou change thy sex's name. 

In grace, a queen — be hence a king in might, 
And ages shall renounce proud Csosar's fame, 
To gaze on thine, as on a fairer light ! 
So, maiden, fare thee well ! surpassing queen, good night ! " a 

Malmesbury. s Elfleda potens, &c. 



EGWINA, ELFLEDA, EDGIFA, AND ELFGIVA, 

QUEENS OF EDWARD THE ELDER AND EDMUND THE 
PIOUS. 

Romantic tale of Athelstan's mother — The loves of Egwina and Edward — Dream 
of the Shepherd's daughter — The nurse of the King's children — Adoption of 
Egwina — The bright light — Edward's second wife Elfleda; her seven children 
— His third wife Edgit'a — Edgifa's lawsuit and will — Athelstan and Beatrice — 
Goda's dishonesty— Education of the family of Edward the Elder — Eadburga 
the nun; her choice — Edward's death, and his son Ethelwerd's — Athelstan 
named as successor — He provides for his family — Beatrice marries Sihtric, 
King of Northumberland — Edgifa marines Charles the Simple — Her trials and 
story — Edgifa and Elfgifa sent to Germany — Their marriage-list of the sisters 
— Hugh the Great and Edilda — The marriage presents — Revived fortunes of 
Edgifa and her son, Louis d'Outremer — Restoration and imprudence — Harsh- 
ness of Louis to his mother — The widow of Edward the Elder still goes on with 
her lawsuit — Edmund the Pious — St. Dunstan — The precipice — Elfgiva — Lt. 
gend — Explanation of the dream— Edmund assassinated — Reay Cross on Stan- 
more — Monasteries — Edred and St. Dunstan — Edwy the Tyrant ; his ill-usage 
of his grandmother — Edgar re-establishes her in her rights — She bestows her 
property on the church — Her death. 

The marriage of Edward the Elder with the beautiful maiden 
Egwina is not an ascertained fact; but she was the mother of one 
of the greatest and the most worthy of the Kings of England, and 
the preference of Alfred for him above his other grandchildren, as well 
as of Edward above all his sons, might lead to the conclusion that 
he was considered legitimate, although his birth was brought forward as 
a reproach to the good and learned Athelstan by the disaffected among 
his subjects. The legend of the loves of Egwina and Edward is told by 
several chroniclers : by William of Malmesbury, who at the same time 
calls her "illustris foemina ;" and Florence, who does the same, naming 
her " mulier nobilissima." It is, therefore, by no means improbable that 
she really was the wife of Prince Edward. The story is thus told : — 

In the time of King Alfred there was a shepherd's daughter, a young 
maiden of extraordinary beauty, who had so singular a vision in her sleep 
that it became the theme of the whole neighbourhood, and reached the 
King's ears. She dreamt that as she lay on her bed, a bright light, as 
of a full moon, shone forth from her body and illumined all England. 
The nurse of King Alfred's children was told of this dream, which b\ 
her was repeated to the Queen, who told it to her husband. Alfred was 
so much struck with the fact, that he had the maiden sent for, and re- 
ceived her into his house, adopting her from that time and treating her 
as his own child. She remained, therefore, under the nurse's care 

(351) 



352 EG WIN A. 

Prince Edward who was not at the time at home, returned in due course, 
and visiting his nurse, was astonished and delighted with the addition to 
the family. The extreme beauty of Egwina, which seemed to make an 
impression on all, did not fail to fascinate the young prince. Whether 
Egwina' s birth was known to King Alfred to be noble, and that, aware 
of her having been concealed as the shepherd's daughter, he did not 
oppose the passion of his son, or whether they were united before he 
knew of it, is not ascertained. Athelstan, and a sister called Beatrice, 
were born to Edward; and from the first, his subjects then, and the 
world since, might agree that he was the bright light of his mother's 
dream, for he filled all England with a glory never known before. 1 

Egwina appears to have died immediately after the birth of her daugh- 
ter, and Edward was free to make what alliance he pleased. Very soon 
after her death, he married Elfleda, daughter of the Saxon Earl, Ethe- 
line. He had not then succeeded to the crown, but in 901 he was crowned, 
with his queen, in great pomp, at Kingston-upon-Thames. 

Elfleda bore seven children to her husband, and Edward found himself 
a widower for the second time, for her life seems to have ended prema- 
turely. He, however, in a short time appears again as a husband, having 
married a lady of high birth, named Edgifa, the daughter of Earl 
Sighelm. 

This Queen, almost immediately after marriage, became involved in 
the intricacies of a lawsuit. Her father Sighelm had engaged part of 
his land in a mortgage, and after his death it was redeemed by the oath 
of Edgifa, which by the Saxon laws was considered as equivalent in value 
to the worth of the money which Sighelm had paid to the mortgagee, 
but for which he had neglected to obtain a charter of release. 2 The 
Queen's will, which may be seen in the Appendix to Lye's Saxon Dic- 
tionary, where it is translated from the Anglo-Saxon into Latin, throws 
much light on this singular transaction, and on the habits of Queen 
Edgifa' s days. 

In her will, Edgifa declares to the Archbishop of the Convent of Christ's 
Church, at Canterbury, how the land of Cowling came to her, viz. — " That 
her father had granted to her the land and deed, as he rightfully acquired 
it, and his ancestors granted it to him. It happened that her father bor- 
rowed thirty pounds of Goda, and delivered to him this land as surety 
for the money, and he held it seven years. Then it happened that all 
the Kentish men were in the war at Holme. But Sighelm, her father, 
was unwilling to set out for the wars in any one's debt, and therefore 
repaid to Goda the thirty pounds, and bequeathed the land to Edgifa, his 
daughter. When he had fallen in battle, then Goda denied the payment 
of the money, and kept possession of the land for six years. Then 
Berksige Deyring, 3 persisted in affirming it, till at length the nobles who 
were there, counselled Edgifa to purge the land of her father of so great 
a sum of money; and she accordingly made oath, in the presence of the 
whole people at Arlesford, and there cleared her father concerning the 

1 Lappenberg, Fl. Wigorn, William of Malmesbury. a Palgrave. 

3 A Saxon lawyer? 



E D G I F A . 353 

repayment, by oath, of the thirty pounds. She was not, however, allowed 
to enter on possession of the land, until her friends had prevailed upon 
King Edward to prohibit Goda from holding it any longer, on pain of 
losing all he possessed ; whereupon he gave it up. It happened after- 
wards, in course of time, that the King expressed so much displeasure to 
Goda, that he gave him in an account of the deeds and lands which he 
possessed. And the Kiug, therefore, delivered him and all his privileges, 
with the deeds and lands, to Edgifa, to dispose of as she pleased. Then 
she said, that she dared not, for fear of God, so retaliate on him as he 
had deserved of her; and she restored to him all his lands, except two 
caracutcs at Osterland. But she would not return the deeds until she 
knew how far he would abide by them in respect to the lands which were 
to be his." These were, doubtless, the lands held by mortgage from 
Sighelm ; and that Edgifa understood the character of the man whom 
she had to oppose in this legal contest, is evident by the subsequent events, 
as the will itself declares, to which we shall have occasion to advert 
hereafter. 

Edgifa had two sons by Edward, Edmund and Edred, and two daugh- 
ters. Of the second marriage one son remained, and six daughters. Of 
the first, Athelstan and Beatrice, who were educated at a distance from 
Edward's court, under the care of his sister, the Lady of Mercia; there, 
though separated from their step-mother Edgifa, they preserved a tender 
affection for her, and for the numerous offspring of Edward, their father; 
of which many proofs occurred after the death of the King. 1 

Edward, in the careful education of his children, followed the example 
of his father's wisdom. His daughters have been compared to those of 
Charlemagne, with whom a similar course was adopted. Their early 
years were devoted to the acquirement of solid knowledge, and the accom- 
plishments prized at the period were theirs ; nor was the use of the distaff 
and spindle neglected by the Princesses; so that their minds and bodies 
were always occupied — the surest method by which good conduct can be 
preserved. Very precious and elaborate specimens in " raiments of wrought 
needlework" and early English embroidery, are said to have been produced 
by the diligence of these " King's daughters." 2 

The sous of Edward had equal means afforded them of gaining the 
information necessary to constitute good princes. 

A story is related of Eadburga, the youngest of Edgifa's daughters, 

1 Turner's Anglo-Saxon. 

a The skill of the daughters of Edward in spinning and weaving is praised in 
the highest terms by our historiaus, and they were likewise instructed with the 
greatest possible care in the art of needlework : so renowned was their talent 
with the distaff that the term " spinster" is said to have been derived from these 
royal ladies. With such noble examples before them for contemplation, it is not 
to be wondered that we learn that the leisure hours of the Saxon women (even 
of the first rank) were spent in spinning and such like servile employments ; nei- 
ther was it any dishonor for the lady of the house to be among her maids, help- 
ing them and performing the duties of the house in common with them, while 
the lord was with his men, assisting and overlooking them; many instances of 
which may be brought to prove the ancient simplicity and plainness of their man- 
ners. — Strutt's Saxon Antiquities. 

30* x 



354 e d a i f a . 

when only three years of age. The princess was led by her father into 
a room; in which the King had previously placed in one part a quantity 
of rings and bracelets ; and a chalice, with a book of the Gospels, in 
another. The child was desired by her father to make her choice between 
them, when disregarding the vain ornaments of a transitory existence, 
she ran to those objects dedicated to religion. Edward, tracing in the 
infantine act a predilection for the service of Heaven, exclaimed with fer- 
vour, as he clasped her in his arms, " Go whither the Divine Spirit calls 
thee : follow with happy footsteps the spouse whom thou hast chosen !"' 
Accordingly the royal child was consigned to the care of her grand- 
mother, Queen Elswitha, who resided at the convent at Winchester. She 
dwelt, for many years after, among that holy sisterhood, distinguishing 
herself by acts of piety and humility. 2 Monkish chroniclers relate of 
her rare humility, that " she would at night, secretly remove the socks 3 
worn by the several nuns, and after having washed and carefully anointed 
them, replace them on the beds of her sleeping companions/' 4 Long 
after her death, the acts of Eadburga were fondly recounted by the re- 
ligious of the nunneries of Winchester, and Pershore in Worcestershire, 
at which last place her " sacred relics had been deposited, but were after- 
wards exhumed by Bishop Ethelwold and placed in a rich shrine, the 
Abbess Elfleda having covered them with gold and silver." 

A. D. 925. — At the time of Edward's death he was residing at " Farn- 
dou, in Mercia/' 5 which is by some supposed to be Faringdon, in Berk- 
shire. 6 A few days later the King was followed to the tomb by Prince 
Ethelwerd, the son of Elfleda, his former Queen. Both father and son 
were interred with regal solemnity in the New Monastery of Winchester, 

1 AVilliam of Malmesbury. 2 Lingard. 

3 Socca, or socks, were sometimes made of leather, as it appears these of the 
nuns were, by the " anointing" mentioned. 

4 "In the eighth and ninth centuries, the Anglo-Saxons wore stockings reach- 
ing halfway up the thigh, called by writers of the period "hose;" the most gene- 
ral material being linen, although " skin hose" and " leather hose" are likewise 
often mentioned. Over these stockings bands of cloth, linen, and leather, were 
worn, commencing at the ankle and terminating a little below the knee, gene- 
rally bound round the leg like the haybands of a modern ostler, but sometimes 
crossing each other, as they are worn to this day by the people of the Abruzzi 
and the Appenines. In some illuminations of the period a sort of half-stocking 
is represented over the hose, instead of the bandages, having the tops generally 
embroidered, and these appear to have been called socca, or socks. They wore 
boots or buskins, but generally shoes (sceo or scho) ; slippers also appear to have 
been worn, called slype-sceo and unhege-sceo. The shoe is mostly painted down 
the instep, secured by a thong, the material being commonly leather, but the 
Anglo-Saxon princes and high ecclesiastical dignitaries are often represented 
with shoes of gold covered with precious stones. The shoemaker's seems to have 
been a comprehensive trade, and to have united some that are now very distinct 
businesses. He says in an ancient Anglo-Saxon dialogue: "My craft is very 
useful and necessary to you. I buy hides and skins, and prepare them by my 
art, and make of them shoes of various kinds, and none of you can winter with- 
out my craft." He subjoins a list of the articles he fabricates: — "Ankle-leathers, 
shoes, leather hose, bottles, bridle thongs, trappings, flasks, boiling vessels, 
leath '* neck-pieces, halters, wallets, and pouches." 

6 Saxon Chronicle. 6 Lysons's Mag. Brit. : Holinshed, Raleigh. 



EDGIFA. 355 

near the remains of Alfred the Great, whom Ethelwerd is said to have 
greatly resembled in person, manners, and literary attainments. The 
double loss must have fallen heavily on the bereaved Queen and her 
family. Ethelwerd, the deceased Prince, had been a youth of great hopes, 
and perhaps Edward had anticipated his early death ; for a few days before 
he expired, he summoned Athelstan to his presence, and having declared 
his desire that he should succeed him on the throne, piously admonished 
him as to his future conduct and mode of government. Thus Edgifa 
beheld Athelstan, the son of the shepherdess Egwina, raised by his 
father's will to the throne, in preference to her sons Edmund and Edred, 
still infants, as well as to the exclusion of Edwin, the surviving brother 
of Ethelwerd. The choice of Edward seems to have been grounded in 
this instance on the predilection of his father, the wise Alfred, for this 
his favourite grandchild, and Athelstan was accordingly crowned, with 
but one dissenting voice, at Kingston. 1 

It was the first care of Athelstan to provide for the future welfare of 
the numerous family of the deceased King. Within the course of a few 
months, his sister Beatrice was given away in marriage, some think, sacri- 
ficed, to Sihtric, King of the Northumbrian Danes, who was only baptized 
on the occasion, and died within a year, when much confusion ensued for 
the succession. 

The first and third daughters of Elfleda, Edward's second Queen, devoted 
themselves to a life of celibacy : these were Edfleda, " who assumed the 
sacred robes of a nun ; and Ethelhilda, who continued to wear a humble lay 
habit : both renounced the pleasures of this world, and were at their death 
interred near the remains of their mother at Winchester." Their sister 
Edgifa was married, during King Edward's life, to Charles the Simple, 
King of France, and the same year of Athelstan's accession, returned an 
exile with her son, and placed herself under the protection of the English 
King. _ 

Edgifa is said to have been distinguished above her sisters for merit 
and genius. Through the treason of Robert, Count de Vermandois, 
Charles the Simple had been imprisoned in the Castle of Peronne ; while 
Raoul, son of Richard, Duke of Burgundy, caused himself to be proclaimed 
King, and crowned at Soissons, A. d. 923, though he acted only as Regent 
during Charles's imprisonment. Edgifa had made every possible effort 
to procure the release of her husband, but in vain. She fled to secure 
her son's life, and after a six years' captivity, the unfortunate Charles 
died in his prison, worn out with sorrow and misery. 

Edgifa returned in sorrow to the home of her childhood, and continued 
to reside there with her son Louis. 

Henry I., son of Conrad, King of the Germans, and Emperor of the 
Romans, had demanded for his son Otho, a sister of Athelstan in mar- 
riage. The English King had four sisters, available alike in beauty, 
though of dissimilar ages, two of whom he sent to the Emperor ; these 
were Edgifa and Elgiva, children of Elfleda. The Emperor Henry 
bestowed the former on his own son Otho, who succeeded him in the 

1 Athelstan is said to have first worn a crown of pure gold. 



356 ELFLEDA. 

empire, so that the Princess became eventually Empress of Germany. 
Her sister Elgifa was given in marriage by her father-in-law, the Empe- 
ror Henry, 1 to a personage who is always named as "a Duke who resided 
near the Alps." Where this undefined locality might be, historians, 
copying each other, are content to remain ignorant. 

Another of the daughters of Edward was given by Athelstan to Louis, 
Prince of Aquitaine. 

The numerous daughters of Edward the Elder may be thus enumerated : 

Beatrice, Queen of Northumberland, wife of Sihtric. 
Edfleda, and Ethelhilda, nuns. 
Edgifa, Queen of Charles the Simple. 
Edgifa, wife of Otho, Empress of Germany. 
Elgiva, married to " a Duke near the Alps." 
Edgiva, wife of Louis, King of Aquitaine. 
Elfleda, wife of Louis, King of Proven§e. 
Eadburga, nun at Winchester; and 
Edilda, married to Hugh the Great, Count of Paris. 

The affairs of France remaining unchanged, it became the policy of 
Athelstan to reconcile himself with the successful ruler. 2 Charles the 
Simple was still in captivity, and Hugh the Great, called Count of Paris, 
was all powerful. Negotiations were, therefore, entered into for the mar- 
riage of his youngest sister Edilda. 

Adulf of Flanders, grandson of King Alfred, through his daughter 
Elswitha, and nephew of Athelstan, conducted the embassy, and in the 
name of Hugh, brought over an immense number of precious gifts, which 
he displayed before the nobles at Abingdon. 

These presents consisted of Oriental spices, hitherto unknown in Eng- 
land, brilliant gems, especially emeralds, many fleet horses, and other 
gifts worthy of being more especially described. 3 Amongst them, "a 
vase composed of onyx, and sculptured with such a subtle artistic hand, 
that as it was looked upon, the harvest-field pourtrayed upon it seemed to 
incline in waving bends upon its surface, the vines to bud forth, as if 
with a rich germinating juice, and its engraven men to move, as if en- 
dowed with life ; whilst its shining and polished surface reflected, as if it 
were a mirror, the mimic face and form of the beholder." Another 
present was " the sword of Constantine the Great, bearing the name of 
that Emperor, inscribed in letters of gold; while upon its pommel, rising 
up above the rich plates of gold, was to be seen one of the four nails 
used in the crucifixion." This valuable gift was accompanied with the 
lance of Charlemagne, used in his wars against the Saracens, and the 
famous pennon which had belonged to that Emperor, by whom it was dis- 
played in his war in Spain. "A diadem, rich with thick gold and pre- 
cious jewels, the lustre of which dazzled the eyes of the beholders." A 
particle of the true cross, enclosed in crystal, and of the crown of thorns, 

1 Holinshed. 2 Lappenberg. 3 William of Malmesbury. 



E D G I F A . 257 

encased in a similar manner, were also among the offerings of the princely 
suitor. 

Athelstan received the bearers of these treasures with great courtesy, 
and having accepted the proposal of Hugh for the Princess his sister, 
directed that the holy cross and sacred crown should be deposited in the 
Abbey of Malmesbury. 1 

Edilda, said to have been the most beautiful of all the sisters, was 
united to Hugh the Great, A. D. 926 : this was a tie which doubly united 
the nations of France and England, and entailed singular consequences; 
for when Charles the Simple died, A. D. 929, at the castle of Peronne, 
two competitors alone remained for the French crown, the Count de Ver- 
mandois and Hugh the Great. 

At this time, the abilities of Edilda's sister, the exiled Queen Edgifa, 
were once more called into action. She resolved to make one more effort 
in behalf of her child, in whom she hoped to see the royal line restored. 
She applied to William, Duke of Normandy, a generous prince, allied by 
blood to the royal family of France, and who saw in the enterprise much 
advantage to be gained to himself. The Duke by his credit with the 
French nobles, engaged them to recall Louis. The French, either from 
love to their ancient masters, or fearing the troubles which the compe- 
tition of Herbert and Hugh would cause, sent deputies to England, to 
bring back the son of Edgifa. This princess, rendered cautious by expe- 
rience, hesitated before delivering the young Louis into the hands of the 
deputies, at the head of whom was William, Archbishop of Sens. She 
exacted from him, in his own name, and that of the nobles and the nation, 
not only hostages, but a promise to be more faithful to him than they had 
been to Charles the Simple : the conditions were accepted, and the Prin- 
cess gave up her son ; nor had she cause to repent it. Edgifa herself 
accompanied him in triumph to Boulogne, where, on their arrival, they 
were met by Hugh the Great and other French nobles, who united in 
taking the oath of fealty to him, and received him with every demonstra- 
tion of joy, while the people sincerely rejoiced in the return of their 
sovereign. The sincerity of the nobles at this juncture is, however, 
questionable ; for Edgifa is said to have returned to England, to obtain 
succours from her brother, King Athelstan, and herself heading the 
forces, a complete revolution was effected ; Louis was triumphantly placed 
upon the throne, and peace restored to the kingdom. The spectacle was 
thus afforded of the grand-daughter of the Great Alfred heroically emu- 
lating her ancestor, by leading an army composed of English and French 
iudifferently. Louis, only seventeen years of age, was proclaimed King 
at Boulogne, and afterwards conducted to Laon to be crowned, which 
ceremony was performed on the 20th of June, A. D. 936, by Artold, 
Archbishop of ftheims, in presence of more than twenty bishops, Hugh 
the Great, and the rest of the nobility of France. There is no reason 
to doubt that both the widowed Queen of Charles, and her sister Edilda, 
the wife of Hugh, were present at this triumphant ending of long dis- 
appointments. The coronation was rendered still more interesting by tho 

1 William of Malmesbury. 



358 ED GIF A. 

marriage, at the same time, of Louis to bis young cousiu Gcrberga, 
daughter of the Emperor Otho. 1 

Edgifa finding the nobles sought to govern in her son's name, and that, 
fearing she might obtain the regency, they were opposed to her residing in 
France, retired into England, where she remained at Athelstan's court till 
938, when Louis, who resided at Laon, sent for her to assist him with her 
advice. She therefore returned to the court of Louis d'Outremer, — for so he 
was called from his sojourn in England. In France, however, Edgifa be- 
came involved in a new series of troubles, from her too open friendship with 
the House of Vermandois, always odious and displeasing to the reigning 
family. With singular imprudence, she allowed herself to become at- 
tached to Herbert, 2 the second son of that Count of Vermandois who 
had made her husband his prisoner at Peronne, where he died. 

So offended and jealous was Louis at his mother's conduct, that he 
caused her residence at Laon to resemble a sort of honourable imprison- 
ment. At last she contrived to escape from her guardians there, and 
some time after, although she had attained a mature age, married her 
youthful lover Herbert, then only twenty, at St. Quentin, for which act 
her son dispossessed her of the royal revenues she had so long enjoyed. 3 
The following year, Edgifa gave birth to a son, Stephen of Troyes, but 
died in 953, in her confinement with a daughter, the Princess Agnes of 
Lorraine. Such was the fate of the sister of Athelstan, her son's policy 
inducing so much harshness to a mother to whom he owed his crown, his 
early safety, and careful education. 

Lothaire, the grandson of Edgifa by Louis d'Outremer and Gerberga, 
succeeded his father at the end of a long reign of thirty-eight years, and 
was followed by another son of his own, Louis the Fifth, the last of the 
Carlovingian race ; but during the reigns of these three nominal kings, 
the real power was held by Hugh the Great, who had married Edilda, 
and afterwards by their son, Hugh Capet, who, on the death of Louis 
the Fifth, seized the crown, A. D. 987, being the first sovereign of that 
royal house whose late misfortunes resemble those of the Stuarts. From 
Hugh Capet, was lineally descended Eleanor de Montfort, the wife of 
Llewelyn, the last of the Welsh Princes, from whom Henry VII. claimed 
his maternal descent. 

The widowed Edgifa, Queen of Edward the Elder, during all these 
changes of fortune, was still unable to establish her claim to her patri- 
monial inheritance. After her husband died, the dispute was renewed, 
as we learn from the statement in the Queen's will, to which we return, 
as it runs through the web of this complicated history : " Then King 
Edward died, and Athelstan came to the throne. Then Goda, availing 
himself of the opportunity, went to King Athelstan, and besought him 
to require of Edgifa the restoration of bis deeds, which he did; and she 
restored him all, except the deeds of Osterland ; and he with his own 
hand released to her that paper (or deed), and humbly gave her thanks 

1 De Menin's Treatise on the Anointing and Coronation of the Kings and Queens 
of France. 
a Historic Anecdotes. 3 Rivalite" de la France et de l'Angleterre. 



E L F G I V A . 359 

for the rest, and moreover he gave her his oath that the compact should 
stand good to her children, born and unborn, for ever. And this was 

done in the sight of Athelstan and of his nobles, at , near Lewes. 

And Edgifa held the land and deeds during the lives of his two sons, 
who succeeded him." 1 

On the death of Athelstan, after a sixteen j-ears' reign, A. D. 941, the 
Queen of Edward the Elder had the satisfaction of beholding her eldest 
sou Edmund raised to the throne, who had obtained the surname of " the 
Pious." The new monarch was then in the twentieth year of his age, 2 
having been only four years old at the time his father died. The corona- 
tion took place at Kingston ;_ and the same year, 941, Edmund was uni- 
ted to Elfgiva, by whom he became father of Edwy and Edgar, who 
afterwards sat on the throne. The birth of this last prince, in 94o, took 
place at a vill close by Glastonbury, which from that circumstance 
derived the name Edgarlei, which it still retains. At the time Prince 
Edgar was born, St. Dunstan is said to have heard voices which seemed 
high up in the air, and which sounded as if intoning a psalm and giving 
utterance to these words : " Peace shall prevail amid the Church of the 
English during the time of the boy who has been born, and of our 
Dunstan." 3 

Glastonbury was especially favoured by Edmund. It is said that one 
day, when the King was out hunting, he set forward with his dogs in 
advance of his suite in the pursuit of a herd of deer which had been 
roused by their horns, and that stag and hounds, reaching a steep preci- 
pice, plunged into the abyss and were dashed to pieces; the King, eager 
in the chase, dashed after them so furiously that he was unable to check 
his horse, and on the moment when death stared him in the face, he 
uttered a mental prayer that if he could be saved, St. Dunstan, whom 
alcne of all people living he had injured, should receive ample compensa- 
tion. The horse arrived on the very edge of the precipice, stopped sud- 
denly, 1 and the King's life was saved, as he believed, by the intercession 
of the holy man. Returned home, Edmund sent for Dunstan, and com- 
manded him to ride with him to Glastonbury. There, having first offered 
up his prayers, Edmund took Dunstan by the right hand and led him to 
the sacerdotal throne, on which he placed him with these words : — " Be 
thou the Prince in this place, its potent possessor, and the most faithful 
abbot of this church ; and whatsoever may be here wanting to thee, either 
for the advancement and increase of divine worship, or for the sustenta- 
tion and administration of the sacred monastic rule, I will, with a devout 
heart aud royal munificence, supply thee." Dunstan accordingly laid the 
foundation of a glorious church, and as soon as the building was com- 
pleted, assembled in it a company of monks. Edmund bestowed a charter 
of privilege on the abbey, a. d. 944. This charter was inscribed in golden 
letters in a copy of the Evangelists, presented by Edmund to the church, 
a beautiful illustration of Saxon art. In the charter, after the King had 

« Lives of the Saints. 

- Turner says eighteen : Antiquities of Glastonbury. 

3 Flor. Wigorn. « Ibid. 



860 ELF G IV A. 

signed his own name, the following persons attested the deed, Eadred, the 
King's brother, and Edgifa, his mother, in these words: "I, Edgifa, 
mother of the King, have confirmed the aforesaid gift." ] 

As the signature of the King's wife is not there, this grant probably 
took place after the decease of that most excellent woman, whose remains 
were interred at Shipton, or Shaftesbury, 2 and she became venerated as a 
saint for her many virtues. Her solicitude for the relief of the indigent, 
and charity in procuring the liberty of slaves, are particularly noticed by 
our monkish chroniclers, whose pages are filled with testimonials to her 
goodness. Of her, William of Malmesbury declares : " She was a woman 
always intent on good works, endowed with such piety and sweetness, as 
privately to redeem prisoners, and readily to bestow on the poor even her 
most precious garments. This Queen is said to have been remarkable for 
the beauty of her person, and so skilful, and admirable in the works 
wrought by her hands, according to the fashion of her times, that even 
envy itself, finding no fault, was compelled to praise. Malmesbury 
assures us that St. Elfgifa was not only eminent for her virtues during 
life, but for her miracles after death. He declares that she was favoured 
with the gift of prophecy, and in his work entitled " De Gestis PoDtifi- 
cium " may be seen an account of the miracles' of this Queen, originally 
in metre, but written there in prose, and according to the author's own 
statement, when "he was young," before A.D. 1125. 3 

One of these miracles is thus given, but as it concerns Edgar, her 
youngest son, who could have been only an infant, either the good Queen 
must have survived the date usually assigned as that of her death, for 
many years, or else it must have been performed by her step-mother Queen 
Edgifa. The widow of Edward the Elder was so popular with the English, 
that many of the subsequent Queens of England, till Emma of Normandy, 
who died shortly before the Conquest, assumed hers as a sort of surname 
in addition to their own ; thus Emma was called Emma Elfgiva, 4 or the 
" Help-Giver." The legend stands thus : — 

1 Hearne Monasticon, vol. i. ; Warner. 

2 The Monastery of Shaftesbury is said to have been built by Elfgiva, Queen 
of Edmund, in conjunction with her son Edgar, for nuns, and at her death she 
was not only interred there, but miracles are said to have been afterwards wrought 
at her tomb. Shaftesbury, once a village, but now a city, was built on the de- 
clivity of a hill, and a stone, transferred from an old wall to the chapter-house 
of the monastery, had this inscription: — " In the year of our Lord's incarna- 
tion. 880, King Alfred, in the eighth year of his reign, founded this city." Some 
say that Elfgiva did not die till 971 or 972, and that in the last of these dates 
she attested a charter to Glastonbury. In the days of Malmesbury and Ethel- 
werd miracles were still worked at the tomb of St. Elfgiva. " She was much 
afflicted by her wicked son Edwy, but comforted by his brother Edgar. God was 
pleased, for some years before her death, to try her with long and tedious ill- 
nesses, with which she was purified like gold in the furnace, and fitted for the 
heavenly palaces, to which she was called a. r>. 971. Her festival is celebrated 
on the 18th of May, according to Britannia Sancta, which calls her the mother 
of Edwy and Edgar." 

3 William of Malmesbury, Miraculse S. Elfgifae. 

4 It will have been observed that the letters /and v are us .J indifferently in 
Saxon. 



ELFGIVA. 861 

Edgar one day, out hunting, pursued the chase to the extremity of the 
forest, and alighting there to await his friends, threw himself on the 
ground beneath the shade of a wild apple-tree beside a stream, where be 
fell asleep. A female hound, apparently large with whelp, came to rest 
at the monarch's feet, and aroused the sleeper. The hound was mute, 
but the whelps within barked as if for joy. The surprised King, raising 
his eyes, beheld two apples successively fall into the stream, which iu 
doing so caused a sound to be emitted from the splashing bubbles of the 
disturbed waters, resembling the words, " Well is thee ! well is thee I" ' 
Shortly after the King perceived a small empty pitcher, followed by a 
large one filled with water, floating clown the stream, and as if the waters 
were like to a whirlpool, the larger strove to empty its contents into the 
smaller one, but without success, for it escaped empty from every such 
attempt, though it dashed saucily against the side of the larger vessel. 

Ou Edgar's return, he sought his mother, to whom he knew God had 
revealed many things, and desired the meaning of what he had seen. 
The Queen directed her son to tranquillize his mind, and having delayed 
her reply till the following morning, addressed her son in these words : — 

" The barking of the whelps, while the mother was quiescent, signifies 
that those who are now in power and doing well (though evil-disposed), 
will remain silent; but that, after thy death, worthless, wicked, de- 
bauched spendthrifts, as yet unborn, will be found to arise and bark 
against God's Church. 

"As to the one apple falling in quick succession after the other, so that 
from their collision as they fell a sound was emitted, which seemed to 
convey the words, 'Well is thee/ this signifies, that from thee, who are 
now as a tree shading all England, shall issue two sons; and those who 
favour the pretensions of the second shall destroy the first, and then the 
promoters of their opposing parties shall say of each of the young 
Princes, ' Well is thee/ because he who is dead shall be reigning in 
heaven, and he who is living shall be reigning in this world. 

" Then as to the larger pitcher not being able to fill up the smaller 
with its contents, that is intended to designate the nations of the North- 
men, which are more numerous than the English, and who will, after thy 
death, attack England ; and although they will make many attempts to 
supply the losses suffered in their ranks, by fresh accessions of their com- 
patriots, shall never be able to fill up with their soldiers this corner of the 
world. On the contrary, our Angles, even when they seem to be most 
completely subdued, will have vigour and strength enough to expel them, 
and the land shall be theirs, as it is in accordance with the will of God, 
and so shall remain until the time pre-appoiuted by Christ." 2 

Edmund married a second wife, as we learn from the Saxon Chronicle, 
who survived him ; this second consort was Elfleda of Damerham, 
daughter of Ealdorman Elgar, 3 who adopted the name of Edgifa, in con- 
Bequence of which circumstance great confusion occurs, in the Chronicles 

1 " Wei his the." 3 William of Malmesbury; Gest. Pont. ADg 

3 Saxon Chronicle. 

31 



362 ED GIF A. 

attributing to one Queen the acts of the other, so that it is difficult to 
distinguish them. 

When only in his twenty-fifth year, A. D. 946, the young monarch 
Edmund was slain by a robber, named Leolf, at Puckle-kirk, in Glouces- 
tershire,' on the occasion of his celebrating the mass-day of St. Augustine, 
which was customary with the Saxons. 

Edmund had formerly enacted some severe laws against thieves, and 
pecuniary punishments proving inefficient, had commanded that the oldest 
in every gang should suffer the extreme penalty of death. 2 This was the 
first time that the life of man had been taken for theft, and it cost Ed- 
round his own. 

Leolf was a notorious robber, banished for his crimes. He suddenly 
presented himself to the King, forcing his way into the palace, whence 
Edmund indignantly ordered him to be expelled ; he fiercely resisted the 
cup-bearer, to whom the order was given, and who endeavoured to obey 
the royal mandate. On this, the exasperated monarch rushed on Leolf 
and seized him by the hair, when the robber drew his dagger and stabbed 
the youthful prince to the heart. Edmund did not die instantly, but 
the wound in his breast proved mortal. The assassin was despatched 
forthwith by the royal attendants. 3 

Edmund the Pious, after a short reign of six years, 4 thus died in 946, 
leaving his two children so young, that in a council held to settle the 
succession, they were adjudged unfit to reign, and the crown awarded to 
their uncle Edred. 

It was in the reign of Edmund, the son of the sainted Edgifa, that the 
celebrated Reay Cross, or Kay Cross, was placed on Stanmore, on the 
confines of Westmoreland and Yorkshire, bearing upon it the arms of 
England and Scotland sculptured on the opposite sides. It was erected 
in testimony of Edmund's grant of Cumberland (which district he had 
obtained by the conquest of Dunmaile, its King) to Malcolm, King of 
Scots, on the condition that Malcolm should hold it of him, and protect 
the northern parts of England by sea and land against hostile incursions. 
From this circumstance the eldest sons of the Scottish monarchs from 
that time were styled "Governors of Cumberland," 5 and the Cross was 
placed as a memorial of the divisions of the two kingdoms. 

Queen Edgifa is frequently noticed during the reign of her younger son 
Edred. Having heard that St. Ethelwold, Abbot of Glastonbury, had 
resolved to go to France to study the Holy Scriptures, the Queen, consid- 
ering the Prelate's absence would be no small loss to the kingdom, pre- 
vailed upon her son to stay his journey, and make him Abbot of Abingdon 
in Berkshire. She assured Edred that Ethelwold had not only wisdom 
enough to suffice for himself, but to guide others, and that he needed not 
to seek in foreign lands for what he possessed already, and she begged 
him not to let so great a man depart the country; the King was delighted 
to hear this assurance from his mother, and acted on her suggestion. 6 It 

1 SaxoE. Chronicle. ' Rapin. 

2 Hume, Raleigh, Lingard. 4 Britton and Brayley. 

* Camden's Britannia, 1594. " Wolstan Vit. S. Ethelwold. 



EDGIFA. 363 

was Edred who, in the latter part of his reign, repaired tbe Abbey of 
Abingdon, which had been built by King Ina, but had fallen to decay 
and ruiu. 1 In this great undertaking the Abbot and monks were assisted 
by grants of money from the royal treasures, and the most material benefit 
was conferred upon them by the donations of the Queen-Mother. 

Ethelwold, who by Edgifa's influence had been made Abbot of Abing- 
don, was afterwards made Bishop of Winchester. 

At the time when Edred was endeavouring to persuade his friend and 
adviser Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury, to accept the see of Winchester, 
which he had declined, as being unfit for it, Edred entreated his mother, 
Queen Edgifa, to invite the prelate to dinner and add her persuasions. 
" I know," said the King, " dearest mother and Queen of the broad em- 
pire of the English, that our mutual friend Dunstan loves you the most 
of living beings, and that he takes an especial delight in the good works 
that you do ; because, whatever he counsels you for the sake of eternal 
life to perform, that you are sure willingly to accomplish, whether it be 
in giving alms for the subsistence of the poor, or in the bestowal of 
donations for the advancement of churches. 2 Therefore is it, that I have 
confideut hope that if you beseech him to do that which it is becoming in 
me to ask, and in him to perform, he cannot justly refuse a compliance 
with your request. It is a thing perfectly manifest to all persons, that 
he ought to hold the highest rank in the priesthood. This is as plain to 
us as that we are his inferiors in wisdom, and in all that duly merits 
honour and respect in this life, as we are sure that he who is King of the 
English is a more powerful monarch than any of the other kings of the 
earth. Address him, then, with that winning eloquence which belongs 
to women : struggle, in order that the grace which you have obtained in 
his eyes, may gain from the servant of God a compliance which cannot 
but tend to aid in releasing us from the bonds of sin." 

The Queen-Mother, in obedience to the words of her son, invited Dun- 
stan to come to her, and sought, by her arguments, to induce him to relax 
in his resolution, but he remained unmoved. " I am unwilling," said he, 
" lady, that thou shouldst ask of me aught that it would hurt my conscien- 
tious feelings to concede, or the refusal to concede which may give offence 
to thee. I am not ignorant how difficult it is for each of us to plead his 
cause before the tribunal of Christ, much less how difficult it will be for 
a man to obtain an acquittal in those cases in which he has acted as the 
adviser or the judge of others. If, however, these considerations cannot 
produce any impression upon thy mind, I would desire to add another, 
and such as may be esteemed that which mainly must prevent me from 
receiving a bishopric. I see that my lord, the King, suffers under a con- 
stant languor, that his life is endangered by it, that he cannot endure to 
be parted from me for a moment, because he has made me as if the father 
of a sovereign, and the master of an entire kingdom." 

As the Queen-Mother still persisted in urging him to accept the mitre, 
notwithstanding his repeated refusals, he, somewhat agitated, said to her 

' Magna Brit. a Lives of the Saints. 



364 EDGIFA. 

"Most assuredly, the episcopal mitre shall never cover my brows in the 
days of this thy son." ' 

From this conversation Dunstan departed, with his mind much agitated. 
The nest day, however, he informed the King that, after his interview 
with Edgifa, he had, on his return home, beheld a vision of St. Peter, 
who struck him, saying, " This is the punishment for your refusal, and a 
token to you not to decline hereafter the primacy of England." The 
King, not perceiving his friend's artifice, who desired to be all or none, 
interpreted the vision to his own mind, asserting that it foretold he was 
to be Archbishop of Canterbury. 2 

In 955, the death of Edred deprived Edgifa of her son, and Dunstan 
of a firm friend. His nephew Edwy, eldest son of Edmund, succeeded 
him, a prince, then in his sixteenth year. He not only manifested an 
open antipathy to the clergy, but deprived many prelates of their bene- 
fices, and even went so far as to banish Dunstan from the kingdom. These 
measures gave great umbrage to the people ; but they were still more' dis- 
pleased, and loudly and vehemently did they express their indignation, 
when they beheld the manner in which Edwy treated his aged grand- 
mother, the venerable Queen Edgifa. Upon some unknown pretext, she 
was despoiled of all she possessed, and reduced to a state of indigence 
and privacy. 3 Eadmer, writing of the injuries Edwy inflicted on his 
grandmother, says, " He afflicted immensely his mother, the glory of all 
England, the consoler of churches, and the supporter of the oppressed, and 
after having taken away from her the property belonging to her, cruelly 
and barbarously degraded her from her previous dignity." For this ill- 
treatment no other cause is apparent than the favour with which the Queen 
had always regarded the clergy. 

As regards her patrimonial estate, we find that the Queen's own Charter 
runs thus : — " At length Edred died, and Edgifa was despoiled of her 
whole inheritance. When Leofric and Leofstan, the two sons of Goda, 
seized from Edgifa the two aforesaid lands at Cowling and at Osterland, 
and said to the young Edwy, who had then been elected, that they were 
more rightfully theirs than hers. And so it was settled until Edgar." 
The reign of the oppressor was, however, prematurely brought to a close. 
The people rebelled against Edwy, and placed his brother Edgar, a boy 
of twelve years of age, on the throne, which caused Edwy to die of grief 
soon after. 

Edgar was no sooner made king than he annulled all the oppressive 
acts of the preceding government. Attention was forthwith paid to the 
injuries of Edgifa, who now recovered her often-disputed patrimony. 4 
The Queen's Charter says of King Edgar, that " he and his nobles 
decreed that they (viz. Leofric and Leofstan, the sons of Goda) had com- 
mitted a wicked robbery, and they decreed the inheritance to be hers, and 
had it restored. Then Edgifa received by the King's permission, and in 
presence of him and all his bishops, the said deeds, and laying her hand 
on the altar, gave the land to the Church of Christ, viz., to the convent 

1 Osbern, Vit. St. Dunstan ; Acta Sancta ; Aug. Sacra. 

a Turner's Anglo-Saxons. 3 Lingard. 4 Ibid. 



E D G I F A . 365 

(of Christ's Church at Canterbury), and for the quiet of her soul; and 
denounced that Christ, with the whole assembly of heaven, would bring 
evil on him for ever, who should at any time pervert or make void this 
bequest. Thus this inheritance came to the convent of the Church of 
Christ." No doubt the harassed Queen saw that this was the only plan 
of securing the property, as the Church would guard its own. 

Appended to an antique picture of Queen Edgifa are the following 
lines commemorative of her donations to the Church ; in it her name is 
written, as is sometimes the case in our old authors, Eddeva or Edyve : — 

"Edyve, the good queene and noble mother 
To Ethelstane, Edmund, and Eldred, 
Kinges of Eugland, every each after other, 
To Christ's Church of Canterbury did give indeed, 
Monketon and Thorndenn, the monkes there to feede ; 
Meyham, Cleene, Cowlinge, Osterland, 
East Farleugh, and Lenham, as we beeleve; 
The yeare Dom. MLXI. of Christ's incarnation." 

In the subscriptions of King Edgar's Charter of Privilege to Hyde 
Abbey, by Winchester, which is yet remaining in the valuable library of 
Sir Robert Cotton, are contained also the signatures of Elfrida, that 
monarch's queen, and Edgifa, his aged grandmother. They are written 
in letters of gold, in a hand of that age : " Ego Edgifu, praedicti regis 
avia hoc opus egregiam crucis taumate consolidavi." Selden observes 
that Edgifa durst not style herself any other than " the king's grand- 
mother," on account of the law passed in Wessex through the crimes of 
Eadburga; for so "avia," as well as "avea," denoted, of which many 
instances in those times are on record. 

Edgifa died August 25th, A. D. 963. ' 

1 Notes to Lye's Saxon Dictionary, whence the Queen's will has been ex- 
tracted. 



31* 



ETHELGIVA, 

QUEEN OF EDWY THE FAIR. 

Ethelgiva's relationship to the young Prince Edwy the Fair — Her extreme beauty 
— St. Dunstan's character and history — His contentions with the Devil ; his 
temptations and triumphs — The fame of the Saint — St. Dunstan's mortification 
to find the young King married — The forced coronation — Flight of the King — 
Anger of the nobles — Bage of the Bishops — Discovery of the weeping Bride — 
Insults to Edwy and Ethelgiva — Passionate words of the Mother of the young 
Queen — Fury of Dunstan — Sympathy of the People for the Royal Pair — Ethel- 
giva refused the title of Queen — Edwy's dislike to the ambitious Prelate — The 
evil spirit at Glastonbury — Flight of Dunstan — His dangers from his enemies, 
the married priests — Security of the Royal Lovers — Seizure of Ethelgiva : hor- 
rible vengeance — She is sent to Ireland — Odo's representations to the King — 
His despair — His troubles — His brother Edgar — Recall of Dunstan — Divorce 
pronounced against Ethelgiva — Excommunication of Edwy — Recovery of Ethel- 
giva, and attempt to return — Waylaid on her journey — Hamstrung and starved 
to death — Broken heart of Edwy — He dies — Buried at Winchester. 

The history of Etbelgiva's life is a sad episode, and presents a picture 
of crime, cruelty, and bigotry rarely equalled in the annals of any coun- 
try. She must have been of royal blood, as she is said to be so nearly 
allied to her husband that the fact furnished a pretext for the injuries in- 
flicted upon her by her ruthless enemies. No narrative can more strongly 
illustrate the extraordinary power of the Church, and the persistance of 
its servants, than the tale of Edwy's persecuted wife. She is repre- 
sented as so remarkably beautiful, that Edwy, prior to his accession, had 
been unable to resist the fascination of her charms, and is supposed to 
have married her in secret. On this step all the after misfortunes of the 
enamoured pair seem to have depended. The monkish writers who have 
told her story are generally desirous to avert blame from St. Dunstan, 
through whom the misfortunes of Ethelgiva arose, and it is their object 
to prove that no marriage whatever took place between the lovers ; that 
Ethelgiva, her mother, was of infamous character, and that the conduct 
of Prince Edwy was worthy of all reprehension. That there was impru- 
dence in the connection there can be no doubt, and it is possible that 
they might have been within the forbidden degrees of relationship • but 
nothing could excuse the extreme and persevering cruelty with which 
their fault, admitting it to have existed, was punished by the severe and 
haughty churchman whose will was resisted by the young King. 

Perhaps the bitterness of St. Dunstan to the unfortunate pair may be 
better understood when the circumstances of his own life are considered. 

(366) 



ETHELGIVA. 867 

The tender feelings he had once himself experienced might have been 
expected to cause him to look with indulgence on the natural weakness 
of youth ; instead of which the memory of his sacrifices seems to have 
rendered him fiercely severe and implacable in his resolution to root out 
every tendency to yield to the impulses of passion or affection. What- 
ever the failings of Edwy might be — and his subsequent conduct showed 
that he had many — the severity of St. Dunstan may be looked upon as 
having fostered instead of correcting them. 

Dunstan was born of a noble Saxon family, at the beginning of the 
reign of Athelstan. 1 His precocious talents induced his parents to send 
him for instruction to a famous school at Glastonbury, where his remark- 
able genius soon developed itself. His bodily health was infirm, but his 
mental powers were extraordinary. Not only in abstruse learning was he 
soou distinguished, but in all the lighter literature, such as "heroic 
poetry, songs and ballads," which was then highly prized. His influen- 
tial friend Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced him at the 
court of Athelstan ; but his haughty and contemptuous bearing, as well 
as his superiority, gained him more enemies than friends, and the absurd 
charge of magic was brought forward against him by the jealous ignorance 
which could not comprehend his amazing information. He was waylaid 
and attacked by enemies, by whom he was maltreated and left for dead, 
having been cast into a bog. From this, however, he escaped, was 
received by a relative, the Bishop of Winchester, and counselled by him 
to devote himself to a monastic life. 

But the world still had charms for the accomplished Dunstan, and he 
next appears living altogether in the society of, and protected by, a rich 
matron of royal descent, named Ethelflaed, cultivating the arts of music, 
painting, and sculpture, in all of which he excelled ; 2 his works in metal, 
such as bells, crucifixes, and censers, were of admirable execution. His 
fame continued to increase, and reports of miracles performed by him 
became current. King Athelstan and his court came to visit Ethelflaed 
and her celebrated guest, aud showed him great honour. A miracle he 
theu performed was bruited abroad ; it was asserted, that through his 
power, no sooner had the royal cupbearers poured out the mead from 
their vessels than they found them instantly filled anew. 

At this time, it seems, the heart of the learned Dunstan became the 
prey of beauty, and he passionately loved a fair maiden from whom Wulf- 
helm, the Bishop of Canterbury, was anxious to separate him. His rea- 
son appears to have been disturbed by the struggles of his mind on this 
occasion, for his resistance to advice and entreaty was long aud resolute. 
At length the Bishop had recourse to prayer, and implored Heaven that 
some worldly misfortune might cause him to see the path of duty with 
more clearness. The evil prayed for arrived, perhaps either in the death 
or infidelity of her he loved. Dunstan was seized with a dangerous fever, 
on recovering from which he had no longer any opposition to make to the 

1 Turner, Vita S. Dunstani. 

2 Bridferth, Osbern, &c. In Hickes there is an engraving from one of St 
Dunstan's drawings, representing the Saviour. 



368 ETHELGIVA. 

proposal of his zealous relative j and, considering himself called to the 
holy state, he embraced a monastic life at Glastonbury. Here he began 
a career of austerity before unparalleled ; ' he built himself a cell too short 
to allow him to lie at length, and here he wrought at his forge, when not 
engaged in prayer : he slept little, and his food was almost too scanty to 
sustain nature. He believed that the Foul Fiend was always on the 
watch to surprise him, and he thought it necessary to be constantly 
on his guard against his attempts. Too much learning had no doubt 
made him mad, and fostered by his solitude, the malady became con- 
firmed. All was, however, by his admiring and bigoted brethren imputed 
to him for holiness, and their wonder was daily fed by the miraculous 
tales they heard of devilish forms visiting the cell of Dunstan, and con- 
tending with that pious and holy recluse. The Fiend would sometimes 
thrust his head in at door or window, and insult his ears with profaue and 
foul language. Once the Father of 111 ventured too far, and Dunstan, 
appearing not to observe him, waited until his tongs were red hot, when 
suddenly darting forward, he seized the tempter by the nose, who yelled 
so loud that the hideous noise was heard throughout the whole country. 

The solution of this mystery probably is, that the ignorant monks were 
alarmed at the noise made by the fire in his furnaces, as he prepared the 
metals on which he wrought. 

Every year the fame of Dunstan increased, till at length he was drawn 
from his retreat, and took up bis permanent place at court as chief min- 
ister to King Edmund, having been previously made Abbot of Glaston- 
bury, with an enormous revenue. His influence from this time knew no 
bounds, and his will was paramount in all things. When young Edwy, 
therefore, came to the crown, it was not likely that he would allow his 
power to be disputed, or surprising that he should desire to sweep from 
his path those who dared to oppose him. Of course, when so young a 
man as Edwy held supreme power, Dunstan expected to have still more 
authority, and nothing could exceed his anger when he found himself 
thwarted on the very threshold by the discovery of the King's marriage 
without bis sanction. His representations, that Edwy should separate 
from Ethelgiva, were unattended to, and nothing but murmurs attended 
his command that she should not be admitted to a share in the solemnity 
of the coronation. 

The ceremony was performed at Kingston, on a raised platform, in 
sight of all the people, Archbishop Odo officiating on the occasion. Edwy 
was remarkable for his handsome person, from which he was called The 
Fair, and was at the time only in his seventeenth year, a circumstance 
which might have called for leniency. A magnificent banquet, befitting 
such an occasion, had been prepared for Edwy and the Saxon nobles ; 
"but while the latter were indulging in the rude and noisy merriment 
accompanying such entertainments, Edwy, watching his opportunity, 
escaped to society more congenial to his taste, perhaps rejoicing to be 
able thus to avoid the excessive drinking which was certain to form a 
feature at these festivals. The Saxon nobles, however, perceiving his 

1 Lappenberg. 



ETHELGIVA. 369 

absence, were indignant at their entertainer showing them so little cour- 
tesy, and loudly expressed the displeasure they felt at the young King's 
forgetfulness of their dignity. 1 St. Dunstan aud the prelate Kynsey were 
appointed by them "to bring the King back to the festive board." These 
two ecclesiastics, equally offended with the Saxon nohles, accepted the 
mission, and angrily leaving the scene of festivity, with a suspicion of the 
cause of Edwy's absence, not a little irritated and incensed by the dis- 
respect shown to themselves as representatives of the Church, in common 
with the other guests, but more especially from his acting thus against 
their known and expressed disapproval of the alliance into which Edwy 
had entered, — sought the retreat of the imprudent host. 

Entirely throwing aside all respect or consideration, the two prelates 
burst into the apartment of the King, whom they found, as they had ex- 
pected, in the company of his young wife and her mother. The King, 
forgetting in the happiuess of the moment all but his escape from an irk- 
some ceremony, had taken off and laid on one side the crown of state, 
that crown which he had not yet been able to share with the woman whom 
he loved, and was caressing Ethelgiva with fondness, aud soothing her 
mortification at not partaking in the splendour he did not prize alone, — 
when these rude intruders invaded his privacy. 

A most strange and unbecoming scene ensued. With violent language 
they insisted on the King's returning to the banquet, loading Ethelgiva 
and her mother with the bitterest threats and reproaches, and heaping on 
them the most insulting and opprobrious epithets; and then, resolving to 
accomplish their purpose, forcibly replaced the diadem on the head of 
Edwy, whom they dragged from his seat, and literally compelled to return 
with them to the revellers in the banqueting-hall. 2 This was no easy 
task; for the terrified women clung to him as to their protector, and force 
only constrained them to separate from him. 

At this moment Ethelgiva, the mother of the young wife, turning her 
eyes on Dunstan, exclaimed in a burst of anger, " How unmeasurable 
must be the audacity of this man, who has thus ventured to intrude him- 
self upon the privacy of a King ! You have threatened me with death 
by strangulation, but I shall have you doomed to the mutilation of your 
liinbs, and to perpetual banishment." 3 

These passionate words were fatal. Dunstan, enraged at the resistance 
and the confidence displayed, saw plainly that both the mother and 
daughter had obtained an influence over the heart of the young Edwy, 
which the monk had intended to appropriate; and as the elder was the 
most likely to bias the King in favour of her own views, Dunstan's rage 
seems to have been peculiarly directed, at this time, against her. It is 
thought that Dunstan was really ignorant of Edwy's actual marriage to 
the daughter of Ethelgiva, which may palliate in some degree the vio- 
lence of his conduct, anxious as he was to prevent the union. On the 
other hand, the existence of such a tie, and the circumstance of Ethelgiva 
being denied the usual honours of Queen-Consort, may excuse the ambi- 
tious and indignant mother the fury of her resentment. "We are told by 

1 Saxon Chronicle. 3 Malmesbury, Wallingford, &c. a Osbern. 

Y 



370 ETHELGIVA. 

some chroniclers that he was not married, and that on the coronation-day 
Ethelgiva and her mother visited Edwy, it being the object of the latter 
to persuade the King to marry "one or the other of them;" 1 but she 
probably desired him to proclaim his union to his subjects, and thus, 
without further delay, enable her daughter to wear the crown. 2 Edwy 
might have been too much in dread of the ecclesiastical authorities to 
disclose the important fact, and hence his anxiety to pacify both his wife 
and her mother. The powerful individuals who headed the combination 
against Edwy's marriage, on finding the tie really did exist, and that it 
was impossible to be prevented, directed their fury against both the young 
Queen and her mother, vilifying them in the most atrocious manner. 

The conduct of Dunstan meanwhile, instead of producing the results 
he expected enlisted sympathy for Edwy and his Queen, and the 
ancient enemies of the proud Abbot were not slow to take advantage of 
the occasion. Ethelgiva was accepted as the wife of the sovereign, and 
the star of the prelate declined. Availing herself of Edwy's unconcealed 
dislike of Dunstan, the young and injured Queen hastened to take re- 
venge, and by his consent, constituted herself mistress not only of all the 
property and title-deeds belonging to the community of Glastonbury, but 
of the personal property of Dunstan also ; and, at the same time, a decree 
of instant banishment was issued against him by the King, upon charges 
from which he was unable to clear himself. The monkish chronicler 
proceeds to state, that at the time the persons sent to drive the brethren 
from their monastery were superintending the inventory of the ecclesias- 
tical goods and property subjected to confiscation, there was heard, on the 
western side of the church, the harsh, ringing laugh of a demon, " which 
sounded like the wheezy voice of a gleesome hag." It was heard by St. 
Dunstan himself, and he responded to it in these words : " Foe to man- 
kind, do not rejoice so much ; for however great may be thy joy now in 
seeing my departure, thy grief will be twice as great when God, to thy 
confusion, shall permit my return." Dunstan saw no safety, for the pre- 
sent, but iu flight; but scarcely had the vessel proceeded three miles from 

1 Bridferth, Osbern, and Eadrner. 

2 Those writers who assert that Ethelgiva was not lawfully united to Edwy are 
supported by several modern authors of the Roman Catholic persuasion, as Dr. 
Lingard, Dr. Milner, &c. Hallam blames Dr. Henry for calling her Queen and 
a lawful wife, without intimating that the nature of her tie with Edwy was at the 
least considered equivocal. Dr. Lingard divides the writers on Ethelgiva's his- 
tory into two classes — those who wrote before, and those who wrote after the 
Conquest. Of the first were Bridferth of Romsey, who is followed by Osbern and 
Eadmer. Neither of these last had, it appears, seen an ancient Life of Odo, 
written in Anglo-Saxon, Cott. MSS., in British Museum (Nero E. 1 b.), which 
has formed the groundwork of the later Lives of that prelate, and is another au- 
thority quoted by Dr. Lingard. A second Life of Odo is another source, of which 
the author, supposed to be either Eadmer or Osbern, is doubtful : it describes 
the coronation scene from Bridferth, and then turns to the ancient Life of Odo, 
the words of which it seems almost to adopt. The additions in this seem like an 
attempt to reconcile the narrative in the Life of Odo with the account of Osbern, 
as if the pages of both the latter were open before the writer at the time 
the MS. was written M^lmesbury wrote the story of Ethelgiva twenty or thirty 
years later 



E T II E L G I V A . 371 

land, being bound for Flanders, where the exiled monk meant to take 
refuge, when the emissaries of Queen Ethelgiva's mother appeared on the 
beach, resolved on the destruction of Dunstan, had he remained but a few 
moments more on shore. 

Another abbot was chosen amongst the enemies of Dunstan, Elsy being 
appointed to Glastonbury, and the abbey was filled with married priests, 
a state which he had resolutely extirpated amongst the clergy, its former 
community being all displaced. The downfall of Dunstan took place in 
956, and was followed by that of other members of the Church, who, 
despoiled of their property, were driven into banishment. 

The reaction of so great a triumph appears to have been too great for 
the mind of the youthful monarch, who now, surrounding himself with 
evil counsellors, and feeling his power unlimited, gave way to excesses, 
which, perhaps, but for the imprudent and injudicious fury of Dunstan, 
might never have been either in his wish or his reach. Rapacious favour- 
ites, young like himself, inexperienced and unprincipled, urged him to 
the most dangerous and impolitic acts. He despoiled monasteries, and 
seized possessions, making powerful enemies on all sides ; but his chief 
crime was his conduct to his venerable grandmother, Edgifa, whom he 
deprived of all her possessions, as has been before related in her life. 

The King's marriage had been legal 1 as far as the actual ceremony, 
but it was contrary to Church laws, Edwy and his wife being too nearly 
related, or " too sib," as the Chronicle has it ; and consequently, as the 
Church would not recognise their union, an open war ensued between 
Church and State, the successive contests of which occupy the whole of 
this short and troubled reign. 

Carried away by the stream of success, neither Edwy nor Ethelgiva 
allowed themselves to fear, and held their former enemies in contempt ; 
but the unrestrained license of the court, and the indulgence shown to 
profligate and exacting ministers, soon disgusted the country, and new 
troubles began. Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, conducted the party 
of Dunstan, who, though in exile at Ghent, was far from having aban- 
doned the hope of ultimate triumph. The discontented clergy fomented 
the disaffection everywhere ripe ; a rebellion broke out in Mercia and in 
the north, and Prince Edgar was proclaimed King, although only thirteen 
years of age. 

The ill-fated Ethelgiva was alone in her palace in Wessex, her hus- 
band, being forced to absent himself in consequence of these accumu- 
lating troubles, considered her in perfect safety ; but Bishop Odo's emis- 
saries were on the watch, and a strong party of his troops surprised the 
place, when the Queen was seized upon, dragged forth, and a hideous 

1 The Charter, Cod. Dipl. No. 1201, which is in every respect an authentic docu- 
ment, mentions her as ^Elfgyfa, the King's wife ; and this in addition to herself 
was witnessed by her mother jEdelgyfa, by four bishops, and by three principal 
noblemen of the court. "If (says Mr. Kemble [Kemble's Saxons in England]) 
that charter be not genuine, there is not one genuine in the whole Codex Diplo- 
maticus, and I cannot see the shadow of a reason to question it, as Lingard has 
done." 



372 ETHELGIVA. 

vengeance accomplished. Her beautiful face was seared by a red-hot 
iron, and she was forced on board a vessel, which carried her off a prisoner 
to Ireland. 

Odo, on this, immediately repaired to Edwy, and endeavoured to repre- 
sent to him the necessity of yielding, doubtless concealing from him the 
extent of the punishment he had inflicted on the unfortunate Ethelgiva, 
which, however, he was not slow to learn, when his agony and rage may 
be conceived. 

Mercia and Northumberland now rose to place Edgar on the throne, 
and Edwy, whom these events had forced to fly about from place to place, 
entered, at length, into an arrangement with his young brother, that the 
river Thames should form a boundary to divide their respective princi- 
palities. No sooner was this effected than Edgar, upheld by the priest- 
hood, annulled all the acts which had been passed against them by Edwy, 
recalled Dunstan from his exile, and reinstated the Queen-Dowager in 
her former rank and dignity. It must have been a great triumph to the 
enemies of the ill-fated Ethelgiva, to behold Dunstan, on the death of 
Coenwalch, Bishop of Worcester, chosen his successor in that see, and 
consecrated by Archbishop Odo. A still greater was afforded by the 
solemn sentence of divorce pronounced between the King and herself, by 
Odo, on the plea of their too near relationship. 1 The sentence was given 
by the Church A. D. 958. 

The revengeful prelate had determined, at all costs, to uphold the 
canonical law of marriage, and his act proves how fully assured he was 
that violence or death alone could divide those who loved so tenderly as 
this ill-fated pair. Nor was this the last stroke of vindictive power exer- 
cised : Edwy himself underwent the sentence of excommunication, — a fact 
mentioned by Malmesbury alone, of all who have recorded the events of 
this most harshly-treated monarch's reign. 

Some have supposed that it was the Queen's mother who was seared 
with the iron brand; but the object of the Archbishop was to destroy 
utterly that fatal beauty which had enslaved the King. The attempt was, 
however, fruitless : the effect of the searing-iron was in a few months 
entirely obliterated; and, restored to her former beauty, Ethelgiva, not- 
withstanding the sentence of perpetual exile issued against her, quitted 
Ireland, with the design of rejoining her beloved Edwy at Kingston. 
She was on her way thither when, at a short distance from Gloucester, 
she was intercepted by the spies of Odo, who once more obtained posses- 
sion of their prisoner, retaining her until they could receive the orders 
of that prelate. Odo commanded that Ethelgiva should be tortured in 
the most horrible manner that could possibly be devised, and accordingly 
the frightful operation of hamstringing was put in force on her delicate 
limbs. This brutal sentence perpetrated, the young and beautiful Queen 
was left, without food or attendance, to linger on a bed of straw, till, at 
the end of a few days, death, more merciful than her heartless persecutors, 
released her from her sufferings. 2 

1 Saxon Chronicle. 2 Malmesbury. 



ETHELGIVA. 373 

Edwy, as unfortunate as his hapless consort, whose greatest crime seems 
to have been fidelity to the last, was not long destined to survive the loss 
of one so dearly loved. A series of afflictions pursued and overwhelmed 
him ; rebellion — a younger brother preferred before him — his divorce and 
excommunication, together with the reversion of every decree made 
against his own enemies and those of Ethelgiva, — all combined, were too 
much for his mind to support. He sunk into a state of extreme melan- 
choly, which, at the end of his stormy reign of four years, terminated his 
existence. The remains of the broken-hearted sovereign were interred 
at Winchester, the favourite city of the "West-Saxon monarchs. 



32 



ELFRIDA, 

QUEEN OF EDGAR "THE PEACEABLE. 

Edgar's volatile Character — Wulfreda, the nun — Ethelflede the Fair, mother of 
Edward — Her death, and Elfrida's beauty — Ethelwold's mission — His decep- 
tion, and marriage to Elfrida — Misrepresentation to the king — Ethelwold's son 
— Hunting — The tribute of wolves' heads — The concealed beauty — Ethelwold's 
confession to his wife — Her resolve — Her conquest — The murder in the forest 
— Marriage of Edgar and Elfrida — St. Dunstan — Elfrida's power — Contentions 
— Ventriloquism — Ely — Ordwulf, the giant — Dissolute clergy — Coronation at 
Bath — King Edgar's death — Edward the Martyr — His cruel murder — Ethel- 
red's tears: the whipping with wax candles — Pledging — Miracles — Penitence 
of the Queen postponed — Saxon verses — Dunstan's anathema — Murder of 
Brithnoth, Abbot of Ely- — Ethelred asserts his will — Elfrida returns to Ware- 
well — Her religious edifices — Wulfreda ejected from Barking — Death of Elfrida 
— Royal grant to the convent. 

The severity of St. Dunstan, which had heen so inveterate towards 
the unfortunate Edwy, relaxed singularly in regard to his successor, 
Edgar, whose habits and propensities do not appear to have differed much 
from those of the King, his brother, whom he superseded. But he was 
so young that time was before the ambitious churchman to mould him to 
his wishes, and to secure all that he desired for the good of the Church, 
and for the well-governing of the country ; for Dunstan was a man of too 
intelligent a mind to sacrifice one to the other. 

Many romantic tales are related in ballads and Saxon poems, of the 
volatile affections of the young King. He is accused of having carried 
off a nun, or at least a novice, from the Abbey of Wilton, where she was 
residing, and forcibly detaining her. This fair one is called Wulfreda, 1 
and she became the mother of a daughter, who afterwards dedicated her- 
self to a religious life ; she having herself retired to the Monastery of 
Barking, founded by Edgar, in expiation of his act. 

The first wife of Edgar is called Ethelflede the Fair, or the White ; 
and sometimes also, for some unexplained reason, the Duck ; 2 she was 
the mother of Prince Edward, who succeeded Edgar on the throne ; but 
she died early, and it was soon afterwards that Elfrida became his wife. 

The extraordinary beauty of the only daughter and heiress of the aged 
Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devonshire, made her hand the prize coveted by 
many a youthful Saxon noble ; and such lively pictures of the young 
lady's beauty had reached the court of Edgar, that the heart of that 
monarch, apparently extremely susceptible, was set on fire by the reports. 

1 Malmesbury, Brompton, Osbern. a Lappenberg. 

(374) 



ELFRIDA. 375 

He instantly formed the design of securing to himself so great a treasure, 
and directed Ethelwold, his minister and friend, who was at most times 
his confidant and adviser, a noble whom " he much loved and trusted," 
to repair to the residence of Elfrida' s father, and ascertain whether her 
beauty was indeed such as had been reported. The secret object of tins 
mission was revealed to the courtier in these words : " Go to the noble 
Baron Ordgar of Devonshire, see if his daughter be as fair as men speken 
of; and if it be so, I will have her unto my wife." 

Ethelwold obeyed ; — he discovered that report had not exaggerated, but 
rather fallen short of the truth in its picture of the charming Elfrida, and 
so much was he enraptured with the young lady on their first interview, 
that, wholly forgetting his object in seeing her had been to advance the 
suit of another, and that other his sovereign, he earnestly desired to ob- 
tain the lovely heiress for himself. He accordingly, without betraying 
the real object of his visit, proposed to her father that a union should take 
place between himself and the lady ; and Ordgar, who was not ignorant 
that the noble Ethelwold, besides being a fair young knight, worthy, and, 
moreover, " well with the King," was a man certain of his fortunes, 
being the favorite of his royal master, considered the proposal so advan- 
tageous, that he accorded his consent to the match, provided also that the 
King himself was agreable to it, 1 a point which involved some difficulty 
to the lover of Elfrida. 

Edgar had, in earliest infancy, been placed by his father, King Ed- 
mund, under the care of Alfwenna, a noble lady, 2 the mother of Ethel- 
wold, who, in consequence, had, with three younger brothers, been the 
playmates in childhood, and trusty friends and companions in riper years, 
of their future sovereign : indeed, it was to the powerful influence of Athel- 
stan, the husband of Alfwenna, an East Anglian nobleman, whose royal 
descent and extensive authority had procured for him the denomination 
of " Half-King," that Edgar was mainly indebted for his elevation to the 
throne of Northumberland and Mercia during his brother Edwy's life- 
time, and subsequently, for the kingdom of all England. To testify his 
gratitude, Edgar erected East Anglia into an Earldom, Athelstan being 
the first who enjoyed the title and authority of Earl over that district, an 
honour afterwards enjoyed by Ethelwold at his death. 3 

Knowing how high the suitor for his daughter's hand stood with the 
King, the Ealdorman felt no doubts, when the Earl engaged to obtain 
the desired consent to his proposed nuptials with Elfrida : it was a task 
which required, under his circumstances, very nice management, yet he 
succeeded to his utmost desire ; for, on his return to court, he so much 
undervalued the charms of Elfrida, as completely to put an end to the 
King's anxiety about her : he represented her as " handsome enough in 
the face, but a deformed cripple in body." Edgar at once, on this, ex- 

1 Caxton's Chronicle. 

2 Lingard ; Parkins's Norwich. The name Alf-wenna, signifying "Half-Queen,'' 
implies very high rank and power in its possessor. 

3 Athelstan assumed the religious habit of a monk at Glastonbury prior to hia 
decease; his wife, Edgar's foster-mother, was buried in Charteris Nunnery, in 
Cambridgeshire, an establishment of her own foundation. 



376 ELFRIDA. 

pressed his indifference to the match without reserve ; whereupon Ethel- 
wold rejoined : — " Sir, she is her father's heir, and I am not rich of 
lands ; and if you would consent, and grant that I might have her, then 
should I be rich enough." "In God's name," quoth the King, "I 
consent thereto." Then Ethelwold thanked the King, and returned into 
Devonshire, and after having " spoused the damsell," he dwelt in that 
country. 1 

Not long after Elfrida's marriage, her husband, in an evil hour, in- 
formed her of all that he had done to deceive King Edgar, who had 
desired to marry her, and to obtain her for his own wife, confiding in her 
professed affection, that she would hear the tale with pleasure ; but as 
soon as she was made acquainted with these particulars, " she loved him 
no more, from that time forwards, as she had done before." 2 In due 
time she presented Ethelwold with a son, who repaired to court, and 
solicited Edgar to become sponsor for the infant, which was. granted, and 
the child was named Edgar. Ethelwold, after this condescension on the 
part of the King, felt more secure than ever from suspicion. The English 
courtiers had, however, viewed with envy and dissatisfaction the Earl's 
rich advancement by his marriage ; and it was whispered at court, that 
whatever pecuniary advantages Ethelwold had obtained, his gain was at 
least an hundred-fold greater in having espoused " the fairest woman that 
ever was seen." 3 Thus, Edgar too soon became acquainted with the 
truth, and felt a redoubled curiosity to behold the woman whose beauty, 
celebrated before, had become so much more renowned as Earl Ethelwold's 
wife. 

Dissembling the resentment which agitated his bosom, Edgar, who was 
accustomed to devote much of his time to the chase, devised a hunting- 
party, 4 for which the real object was an excuse to visit Devonshire, of 
which Elfrida's father was Earl, and in which county Ethelwold had 
hitherto secluded his wife in a state of the strictest privacy, with the 
hope of guarding her beauty from the monarch's eye. The Earl himself 
formed one of the party on this momentous occasion. As they ap- 
proached the house in which Elfrida dwelt, the King informed Ethelwold 
of his intention to behold the lady whose charms he had heard so highly 
extolled. The alarmed noble vainly endeavoured to dissuade the King 
from his purpose ; but, unable to succeed, as a last resource hastened for- 
ward to apprise Elfrida of the dreaded honour. Some say that the terror 
felt by Ethelwold at this hour of expected discovery, first wrung from his 

' Caxton, William of Malmesbury. a Caxton. 3 Ibid. 

4 Edgar was remarkably fond of the chase ; so much so that he would fre- 
quently hunt on a Sunday. Dunstan reproved him for this, and lie owned and 
amended his error. In his reign it was a too common habit with the clergy to 
neglect their duties, and mix with the laity in the pleasures of gaming, hunting, 
dancing, and singing, besides which they lived openly with their concubines or 
wives. As might be expected, the habits in such a court were not very select. 
Edgar himself was most devoted to the hunting of the wolf, and he rendered 
an essential benefit to the country by imposing on Judwal, King of Wales, an 
annual payment of 300 wolves' heads ; in the fourth year this payment ceased, 
for the want of wolves. It was usual to pay this Welsh tribute at Winchester, 
whence Wolvesey Castle has derived its name. — Hume, Malmesbury. 



ELFRIDA. 377 

lips the confession to his wife of the artifice his affection had led him to 
employ, for the sake of obtaining her hand, while he earnestly besought 
that she would array herself as unbecomingly as possible, to conceal her 
beauty from Edgar's eye. 

The Earl had misjudged his wife's character, in making this appeal to 
her good feelings. Hers was not a nature to forgive the man who had 
robbed her of a crown, and bestowed on her merely the coronet of an earl's 
wife. The knowledge of the King's approaching visit awakened all her 
ambition, and she resolved not to let the opportunity escape of securing 
his attention. She had secretly pined in the retirement to which Ethel- 
wold's prudence had consigned her. She had sighed, but hitherto in 
vain, to exhibit her beauty and wealth, in all their pomp, at the splendid 
court of the monarch, who was a known admirer of female loveliness. 
The moment so auspicious was at hand, and if lost might never be re- 
newed. Her heart full of contempt, amounting almost to hatred, for the 
man who knelt to sue her to adopt the course he desired, she promised to 
comply with his wish, but her promise was merely a deception to put her 
husband off his guard. When Edgar arrived, attended by his agitated 
friend, Elfrida, to his distraction, appeared before her sovereign in a dress 
resembling that of a bride. The vesture was as rich and costly as she 
could render it; her golden hair was finely combed, and part of it hanging 
down in luxuriant curls; her head was crowned with jewels, and a chain 
of diamonds about her neck gave splendour to her unparalleled beauty. 1 
The enraptured monarch had no sooner beheld the lovely apparition, than 
he resolved, cost what it might, to obtain so rich a treasure. For the 
time, however, he dissembled his anger against Ethelwold, and seeming 
to think lightly of her beauty, bade her farewell with apparent indif- 
ference. His first step was to order a place of entertainment to be pre- 
pared for Elfrida and her husband, in return for their hospitality, near 
the wood in which they were to hunt, and to which he might repair when 
his sports were over. 

On his return to the spot prepared for his accommodation, King Edgar 
beheld Elfrida holding in her arms her infant son, his namesake and 
godson, whom Ethelwold presented to him. On this the sovereign em- 
braced and kissed Elfrida the mother, and became from that moment so 
much distracted with love, that he could obtain little rest, ever meditating 
how to obtain her. His schemes were at last determined, and the King 
acted accordingly. Eight days after, a parliament was called at Salisbury, 
at which all the magistrates of the land were present. Then Edgar sub- 
jected to their consideration his project for the safe custody of Northum- 
berland from the incursions of the Danes; and it was settled that 
Ethelwold should be appointed governor of York and the adjacent country. 
This was a deeply planned scheme, apparently intended to honour the 
Earl to whom he had so recently made a visit, but who was not intended 
to reap the fruits of the promotion. 2 The Earl was found shortly after 
murdered, in the Forest of Wherwell, in Hampshire, where it was sup- 
posed he had been attacked by robbers when passing through its gloomy 

1 Heywood's History of Women. 2 Dugdale 

32* 



378 E L F R I D A . 

shades ; but there is no doubt that they were armed men instructed by 
King Edgar to lie in wait for his former favourite, who, by his orders, 
barbarously murdered him. Another account given is, that the King's 
own hand dealt the fatal stroke; that Ethelwold, in passing through the 
forest, encountered, either by chance or design, his formerly attached but 
now revengeful master; that the King and Earl conversed for some time 
with apparent cordiality, till, on arriving at the thickest part of the 
wood, Edgar suddenly drew his dagger and stabbed the Earl to the heart. 1 
While some accounts fix the Forest of Wherwell as the scene of the 
gloomy tragedy, others point out Harewood Forest, in the north of Eng- 
land, as memorable for the murder of the unfortunate Earl, which indeed 
is noted by the traditions of the neighborhood. Mason the poet thus 
describes the spot : — 

" A darkling dell, which opens in a lawn, 
Thick set with elms around," — 

and in his well-known play, has represented the Countess Elfrida as an 
angel of light and goodness, full of truth and constancy. Warner, who 
visited the scene of the Earl's murder, describes it in his work as being 
half a mile beyond the ancient Castle and Forest of Harewood. 

There is an ancient ballad or " Song of King Edgar, showing how he 
was deceived of his love/' which contains these lines: — 

" Thus he that did the king deceive, 
Did by desert his death receive." 

No sooner was the news of the murder brought to court, than Edgar 
" sent for the widow of the glorious Ethelwold, Lord of the East Angles, 2 
to come to London, and straightway made her his Queen; 3 and on the 
same day that the nuptials were solemnized, the King and Queen Elfrida 
appeared together in public, both of them wearing crowns on their heads ; 
by which act the people plainly perceived who was the author of the 
Earl's death, and consequently made no exertions for the discovery of the 
murderer." 4 

"But," say the chroniclers, "on the morrow morning after their mar- 
riage and public appearance with their crowns, Dunstan, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, came into the King's lodging-chamber, and boldly asked him 
' who that was that he had with him V and it being answered ' the 
Queen,' the good Archbishop plainly replied, ' that it was against the 
laws of God and holy Church, to be united to one whose son he had been 
godfather to, in respect of their spiritual kindred; after which time," 
continues the historian, " Elfrida never loved St. Dunstan; yet he ceased 
not to admonish the King of that fault, though to little purpose." 5 

1 It is added, that a natural son of Ethelwold passed closely at the time, when 
the King asked " How it pleased him?" To which the youth servilely replied, 
" Very well! if it so please your grace, for whatsoever pleaseth you, ought not 
to displease me !" The answer saved his life ; and Edgar afterwards tried to ex- 
tenuate his murder of the father by lavishing favours on his son. 

a Flor. Wigorn. 3 Parkins's Hist, of Norwich. 

' Gaillard's Rivalite". ■ Malmesbury. Dugdale. 



ELFRIDA. 379 

At this very time, when the marriage festivities were going on, began 
a series of misfortunes to the country in the shape of pestilence and con- 
flngrations. London was devastated by the latter scourge, and the Cathe- 
dral of St. Paul was reduced to ashes. Of course the monks did not fail 
to attribute these events to the indignation of Heaven. Nevertheless, 
population increased ; Edgar remained popular with his subjects, for his 
public acts were all deserving of praise, and showed both energy and 
wisdom. He has been blamed for the favour he showed to the Danish 
settlers, but his expeditions against the Welsh and other disaffected 
nations, were satisfactory, and brought him both fame and profit. 

The date of Elfrida's marriage is fixed by the Saxon Chronicle in 965, 
an obvious mistake, as her name appears appended to a charter in the 
year 9(34 ; it is therefore very likely that Roger of Wendover is correct 
in assigning the nuptials to the year 963. 

The solemn coronation of Elfrida soon followed her marriage, notwith- 
standing the reproaches of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. It is 
not, however, certain that Edgar was crowned with her then, but at a 
later period she shared with him that solemn pageant of royalty. Thus 
having reached the height of her ambition, Elfrida endeavoured to extin- 
guish her remorse, and atone for her crimes, by erecting a monastery on 
the spot where Ethelwold had been slain. Aylwin, his brother, had suc- 
ceeded to the Earldom of East Anglia; he was founder of the Abbeys of 
Ramsey and Huntingdon, where his statue may yet be seen. 1 The last 
Earl of East Anglia was Harold, the son of Godwin, and it is somewhat 
remarkable that his wife was not only, by her marriage to him, Countess 
of East Anglia, but exchanged that title, like Elfrida for the more exalted 
one of Queen of England. 

Notwithstanding her ambition, Elfrida could hardly expect to receive 
higher honours than those accorded to the former consort of Edgar, Ethel- 
flede the Fair, who, in some records of Edgar's reign, is styled only "the 
King's wife," but never the Queen. 2 

Yet while the other consorts of those sovereigns of the heptarchy who 
had maintained their independence after Edgar, were permitted to enjoy 
that title which Elfrida had bought at so high a price, it was not in her 
nature to be content with the honours due to the husband only, and 
reflected from him. Elfrida had worn the crown on her wedding-day, 
and thus attired, sat like Judith in her chair of state by the side of Edgar; 
and though we find her afterwards styled frequently "the King's wife," 
she had also the enviable title of Regina accorded to her. A charter 
granted by Edgar to the Church of Worcester, A. D. 964, the year after 
his marriage, was signed by Elfrida thus : " Ego Elfyred Regina con- 
sensi et signo crucis confirmavi ;" while another to the Church at Ely, 
was also attested by her as "Regina." 3 

In King Edgar's Charter of Privilege to Hyde Abbey, by Winchester, 
which is yet extant, in a hand of that age, in letters of gold, may also be 
found the signature of Queen Elfrida. First appear the manors and 

1 Parkins. 3 Carter and Dugdale. Selden's Titles of Honour. 

3 Cott. Lib. 



380 ELFRIDA. 

donations of Edgar, Dunstan, Edmund, and Edward; then the subscrip- 
tion of the Queen, who takes precedence of Edgifa, the King's grandmo- 
ther, that venerable friend and patron of the pious and good during 
several reigns, the aged relict of King Edward the Elder. 

" I, Alfdrid, the lawful wife of the aforesaid King, by my bequest 
establishing monks in the same place, with the King's permission, have 
made the mark of the cross." Then follows : — 

" I, Eadgifa, grandmother of the aforesaid King, have confirmed this 
excellent work by the sign of the cross." 

The fact of the words " with the King's permission " being inserted, 
shows that it was not a common custom for the King's wife to attest these 
charters. In this last document the name of Kegina is omitted. 

After the second innovation of the law for Elfrida, it ceased to be re- 
garded in Wessex, and from that time forward we find the Saxon Queens 
of England were, as a matter of right, crowned, anointed, and seats of 
state provided for them by the side of their husbands on the most public 
occasions, besides which they bore the title of " Regina " or " Queen." 

The Book of Grants, presented by Edgar himself to the Cathedral of 
Winchester, bearing the date A. D. 966, and written entirely in letters of 
gold, in the old Saxon character, contains a curious and ancient illumi- 
nation. The book is in the Cottonian Library, marked "Vespasianus 
A. VIII.," and an engraving from it may be seen in Strutt's Regal and 
Ecclesiastical Antiquities, where the following description is given : — 

" Edgar is here delineated as piously adoring our Blessed Saviour, who 
appears above seated on a globe, to show his empire, and supported by 
four angels, emblems of the four gospels ; under his feet are two folding- 
doors, intended, perhaps, to represent the entrance into the bottomless 
pit, which is so placed to convey the idea of his triumph over Death 
and Hell; in his left hand he holds the book of judgment, which is to 
be opened in the last day." 

Strutt supposes the figures on the right and left of the King to be 
Cuthbert, the Saint of Durham, and Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely. On 
the opposite page is a Saxon inscription in capital letters of gold, thus 
translated into modern English : — ' 

" Thus sits that God alone who made the heavens 
Whilst humbly Edgar the king pays his adoration." 

To quote further from Strutt, " as there has been extraordinary pains 
taken in the writing and ornaments of this book, and as it was written 
(which appears by the date) at the very time of Edgar, it is more than 
barely probable that this is not only an exact delineation of the habit of 
that monarch, but also (to the best of the illuminator's power) a true 
portrait of him." The following is the description of the colours of the 
original : — " The garment of our Saviour is a dark blue, and the lighter 
robe is gold ; so also is the oval he sits in, the book he holds, and the 
doors under his feet. The angels are dressed in white, and the shadowed 
part is gold, as well on the habit as on the wings. The king's cloak is a ' 
dark blue, edged with gold, his coat a deepish crimson, and his hose a 
dark brown ; his book and crown are gold. The saints, 



ELFRIDA. 381 

him, are in blue, and the lighter-coloured part of their garments is gold, 
as well as the ornaments they hold, and the glory over their heads/' 

Edgar was one of the greatest friends the Church ever had in this 
country. He is said to have built forty monasteries, to have completed 
Glastonbury, which his father had founded, and to have adorned the reli- 
gious edifices of Abingdon, Thorney, Burgh, and Ramsey, besides 
founding a building for nuns in Winchester. 

Elfrida was present, a. d. 969, at a witenagemote of considerable im- 
portance, held at Winchester in the royal palace. In that year Edgar 
gave instructions to St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sts. 
Oswald and Ethelwold, the Bishops of Worcester and Winchester, to 
expel all the clerks from the larger monasteries of Mercia, and replace 
them with monks. This expulsion was in consequence of the dissolute 
life they led. The clerks who were expelled, desired to prefer a com- 
plaint against the severity of Dunstan, in the King's own presence ; and 
they were met by the Archbishop in the witan at Winchester, the King, 
Queen, nobles, and clergy being assembled on the occasion. After 
Dunstan had uttered his defence, the clerks prayed to be restored, and 
those who held possession of their offices removed. Dunstan spoke not, 
but hung down his head as if in reverie ; ' but it is said that at this 
moment a figure of our Lord, affixed to the standard of the cross, ap- 
peared in an elevated position in the palace, and a voice was heard 
saying, "Let it not be done — let it not be done; well have ye judged, 
ill would ye change." The King and all present, at first astonished and 
terrified to death almost by this extraordinary appearance, filled the air 
with their shouts, and assented to the sacred decision. 

Ethelwold, one of the three prelates appointed to survey the monaste- 
ries, was a pupil of Dunstan, and some of the expelled monks had tried 
to deprive him of life by poison. It was Ethelwold, who, by Edgar's 
order, commenced the restoration of the monasteries which had either 
fallen into decay or been ruined by the Danes. 2 Ely was the first monas- 
tery repaired ; it had been destroyed by the Danes, A. D. 970, and instead 
of filling it with nuns as before, Ethelwold placed in it a company of 
monks, under Brithnoth, one of his own society or establishment, whom 
he constituted abbot. Brithnoth governed Ely in that capacity eleven 
years, at the end of which his history becomes identified with that of 
Queen Elfrida, as will be seen in the course of this memoir. The resto- 
ration of Medehamstede, after it had laid waste for nearly a hundred 
years, was commenced in the same year as that of Ely by Ethelwold, and 

1 It appears evident that this scene was got up by Dunstan, whose knowledge 
of mechanics, ventriloquism, optics, &c, enabled him easily to impose on the 
uninformed personages with whom he had to do. The charge of magic has always 
been made against the learned in the sciences in all unenlightened times, and it 
was a great temptation to one who had a great end to gain, the feeling that he 
could so well deceive, without a chance of detection. 

2 Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, in a great famine, sold all the sacred ves- 
sels of his church to relieve the poor, saying, " That there was no reason why 
the senseless temples of God should abound in riches, and lively temples of the 
Holy Ghost should want them." — Howel, Med. Hist Ang. 



382 E L F R I D A . 

•when completed it received the name of Peterborough, which has de- 
scended to modern times. 1 Leland relates that Edgar assisted Ethelwold 
in rebuilding Medehamstede, by the persuasion, some say, of his first 
■wife, Ethelflede the White ; but the date of the restoration of this abbey 
proves that it was Elfrida, and not Ethelflede, by whose counsel he acted. 
When St. Paul's, in London, was endowed by Edgar with twenty-five 
mansions and a considerable sum in money, Ethelflede is said to have 
added her own donation of two lordships, which royal gifts were after- 
wards confirmed by Ethelred and Canute. These, and the donation of 
the island of Portsea, to the New Minster, at Winchester, have been at- 
tributed to Ethelflede, but appear much more like the acts of Elfrida, 
who was desirous of purchasing peace with the Church which she had 
offended. That Elfrida, as well as Edgar, took an active part in the 
restoration of clerical institutions is evident. In the Cottonian Library 
is extant a reformation of the monastic life of both sexes, written in 
King Edgar's time, wherein he takes care of the monks, and his wife 
Elfrida of the nuns. 

Elflede 2 "Candida" (the White), Edgar's first wife, had left him two 
children, Edward, afterwards surnamed the Martyr, and a daughter called 
Editha, who entered into the seclusion of a conventual life. 3 

The children of Edgar by Elfrida were two sons, of whom the eldest, 
Edmund Atheling, died in his father's lifetime, A. D. 971, and was interred 
with princely honours in the Monastery of Rumsey, Hampshire." 4 The 
youngest of the royal children bore the name of Ethelred, to which was 
afterwards added the surname of " the Unready," and with his mother's 
beauty, he inherited some, at least, of her bad qualities. 

Not long after the death of her son Edmund, Elfrida lost her father, 
Earl Ordgar, who was interred at Exeter. In the year of his decease, 
A. D. 971, this nobleman 5 had commenced an abbey at Tavistock, in Devon- 
shire, which he filled with monks. The edifice itself was on a very grand 
scale, and not completed till 981 ; it was finished by Ordulf, the Queen's 
brother, a person described as of gigantic size and stature, whose figure, 
and also some of his bones, were exhibited there; but the Danes destroyed 
the building, about ten years after its completion. Malmesbury records, 
amongst other instances of the personal strength of Ordulf, that when the 
drowsy warder of Exeter delayed on one occasion to open the gates, he 
burst them open, demolishing also the stone jambs on which they hung. 

Elfrida seems to have accompanied her husband on most occasions of 
importance, and probably the King's leisure intervals were passed in her 
society, though his infidelities are said to have been great. We are told 
that the Saxon princes had a palace situate to the north of St. Albans, 

1 Chron. Peterburgens ; Ingulplms : Vit. S. Ethelwold. 

' The name is written at times, Egelfleda and Eneda ; also Ethelfleda and 
Elfleda. 

3 Gaillard's Rivalite", &c. 

* Ramsey and Rumsey were quite different places, though each was distin- 
guished by a convent ; that of Ramsey was in Huntingdonshire, and built by 
Elfrida's brother. 

* Turner, Roger of Wendover. 



ELFRIDA. 383 

the site of which is now occupied by King's Bury, to which they were 
wont to resort at times for their favourite amusement of fishing. " At 
this royal abode there was a great fishpool, of about twenty acres, which, 
by the festivities displayed on it, was a great inconvenience to the neigh- 
bouring Abbey, till Abbot Ailric procured it, in exchange for a cup of 
rich workmanship, of King Edgar. He had afterwards the embankment 
eut away, and the waters dispersed ; but the situation is still pointed out 
by Fish Pool Street, in the lower part of St. Albans." The palace itself 
was not finally demolished till the reign of King Stephen. 1 

The dissolute lives of the clergy during this reign have been already 
noticed, and, indeed, a great laxity of morals appears to have prevailed 
among all classes. At this time there were so many Danes in the country, 
who gave themselves up to drinking and idolatry to such an excess, that 
they were hardly governable. To repress the vice of drunkenness, the 
Winchester measure was instituted. Edgar ordained a size, by certain 
pins in the pot, with a penalty to any that presumed to drink deeper than 
the mark. Gold and silver nails were also ordered by Dunstan for this 
same purpose, and were put into the drinking-vessels to prevent inebriety 
and quarrels. These pins, nails, or pegs, were fastened in the pots, 
whence the phrase " to drink to the pin/' a feat only acquired by long 
practice. 2 

Edgar also commanded a new coinage, the old having been so reduced, 
by the fraud of cheating clippers, that scarcely any piece was found to be 
of worth, when its value was tested in the scales. 3 

There is no doubt that London and Winchester were frequently chosen 
residences of Edgar and Elfrida, and most probably Worcester, where 
their son Ethelred II. afterwards erected a tower, called " King Edgar's 
Tower," because the statues of that King and his two Queens, Elfleda 
and Elfrida, are placed on its eastern front. 4 

In 972 Edgar and Elfrida were solemnly crowned at St. Peter's, Bath, 
the ceremony being performed by Dunstan, on the 11th of May, the 
feast of Pentecost. St. Oswald assisted in the ceremonies of consecrating 
and anointing Edgar and his Queen. For seven years previously Edgar 
had laid aside his crown, a penance imposed by Dunstan, for his crime in 
carrying oif the nun Wulfreda of Wilton ; he now resumed the insignia 
of royalty in public, and surrounded by his peers, to whom, on this occa- 
sion, he presented the customary gifts. The royal robes, worn by Edgar 

1 Britton and Brayley. 

a The custom of drinking to the pin is thought to have been introduced by the 
Danes themselves, who fixed a pin inside of their wassail-bowl. — Hardy's Notes 
on William of Malniesbury. 

3 That the byzant or besant, an ancient Greek coin of gold, which was named 
from ancient Byzantium, and issued by the Greek emperors, was used in Eng- 
land, is proved by the fact that St. Dunstan purchased of King Edgar the estate 
of Hindon, in Middlesex, for 200 byzants. The coin was generally current in 
England before the Norman Conquest, and has been introduced in armorial bear- 
ings. The value of one byzant, according to Dr. Henry, was nine shillings and 
fourpence. — Notes to Le Grand's Fabliaux. 

4 Green's History of Worcester. 



884 E L F R I D A . 

at his coronation, arc described as of immense value, on which account 
the King afterwards bestowed them on Glastonbury, as a decoration for 
the altar. 

" Much bliss there was, by all enjoyed, 

On the happy day named Pentecost; 

Crowds of priests, and throngs of monks, 

In council sage were gathered there." ' 

Not long after this grand event, Edgar, who seems to have been to the 
full as fond of pomp and parade as his consort Elfrida, summoned his 
subreguli at Chester. 2 Kenneth, King of Scots, was among the first to 
do him homage, and was followed by his nephew, Malcolm of Cumbria, 
and Maccus, King of Mona and the Isles, by the Princes of Galloway, 
and the Cymric tribes. 3 During this meeting at Chester, Edgar one day 
purposed to go by water to the Abbey of St. John the Baptist, and 
obliged eight of these tributary princes to row him in a barge upon the 
Dee, Kenneth MacAlpine being one of the number. This king had re- 
ceived Lothian from Edgar, on condition that he should annually attend 
Edgar's principal feasts, and do him homage for that district. The Eng- 
lish king gave him several houses for his entertainment during his jour- 
ney, and made him many handsome presents, such as one hundred 
ounces of pure gold, many silken ornaments, and rings with precious 
stones. 

Amid all the honours accorded to royalty, the highest in such a gay 
and glorious court, Elfrida must have had her heart's utmost desires ful- 
filled ; but her triumph was not destined to last; and could she have 
foreseen how little real happiness was to be gained by her crime, even 
her first steps in that career had perhaps been stayed. Her successes 
and glories were terminated, in the twelfth year of their marriage, by the 
King's death, who was then only in the thirty-second year of his age, 
though the sixteenth of his reign. He died July 8th, 975, and was in- 
terred at Glastonbury, with every regal honour. The tomb was, at a 
later period, 1052, opened 4 by Abbot Ailward, when the King's remains 
were re-interred within a large shrine covered with gold and silver, and 
inlaid with beautifully moulded images in ivory, which had been Edgar's 
own present to the Church. 

1 Saxon Chronicle. 

3 Edgar was, in person, small and thin, [a picture of him may be seen in Wyn- 
kyn de Worde,] which caused Kenneth to remark with surprise that so many pro- 
vinces should yield obedience to a man so insignificant. The speech reached the 
ears of Edgar, who led his guest apart into a wood, and producing two swords, 
bade him choose one of them. " Our arms," said the king, " shall decide which 
ought to obey the other ; for it will be base to have asserted that at a feast, which 
you cannot support with your sword." Kenneth, in much confusion, remembered 
his hasty observation, and "apologised for it as a joke." — Turner. 

3 Palgrave. 

4 The opening of the tomb is said to have been attended with several miracles. 
Not only was the royal corpse fresh and incorrupt, but the abbot, seeing it was 
too large for the receptacle prepared for it, having profanely hacked it with a 
steel instrument in his hand, to his own horror, and that of the spectators, tor- 
rents of blood burst forth from the wound. The abbot afterwards became in- 
sane, and died % yiolent death ! — Saxon Chronicle. 



ELFRIDA. 385 

Immediately the King's death became known, two mighty factions 
arose, which threatened to lead to a civil war. The King's will had de- 
clared that the crown should devolve on Edward, the son of his first wife, 
an amiable Prince, then in the thirteenth year of his age ; but the ambi- 
tious Elfrida desired to secure the throne to her son Ethelred, then but a 
child of about seven, and objected to Edward's claim, that his mother 
either had not been lawfully married to Edgar, or that the young prince 
was born before their coronation, and that he was illegitimate, besides 
which the Queen alleged he was of a harsh and cruel disposition. 1 As 
Elfrida had always possessed great influence with the late King, she had 
acquired many friends, who now became partizans in favour of Ethelred's 
succession; 2 but many of the nobles who were acquainted with her impe- 
rious temper, dreaded the consequences of her being placed as Regent at 
the head of the State, which must have been the case if Ethelred was 
elected king, and of this number was the Queen's old enemy, Dunstan, 
still the most powerful person in the kingdom, to whom even monarchs 
had been forced to submit. It was this prelate who stepped forward in 
the emergency, to carry into effect the claims of Edward, knowing that 
he was supported by the wishes of the people generally, and by Oswald 
and other bishops and nobles, who desired the late King's will to be re- 
spected. Dunstan, indeed, was the last person in the world who was 
willing to suffer such a diminution of his own power as would have been 
the result of Ethelred's advancement, when his mother Elfrida was 
directly his opponent; he accordingly convened an assembly of nobles at 
Kingston, for the purpose of crowning and anointing Edward. The fac- 
tion of Elfrida, among whom was Alfer, Duke of Mercia, formally de- 
clared against the ceremony taking place ; the Queen herself, who was 
present, objected on account of the Prince's illegitimacy, which rendered 
her son the legal heir. 3 At this crisis Dunstan appeared, bearing in his 
hands the banner of the crucifix, accompanied by young Edward, whom 
he presented to the lords as their rightful monarch, declaring that he 
would himself be responsible for their Prince's conduct, whom he would 
regulate as his father's tutor and prime-minister. This promise of Dun- 
stan united the wavering minds of the assembled lords, and Edward was 
received with universal joy. 4 Taking the youth by the hand, Dunstan 
marched directly to the church, accompanied by the other bishops, and 
followed by a great crowd of people, where he anointed him King, in 
spite of the opposition of Elfrida and her party, who were overwhelmed 
with grief at the priest's triumph/ 

This public acknowledgment of Edward by Dunstan proves the validity 
(if his mother's marriage, and the base artifice Elfrida had employed 
against him. Had he really been illegitimate, as an author observes who 
was of that opinion himself, 6 Elfrida migbt justly be excused for desiring 
the true heir to become king. 

1 Brit. Sancta, Lingard. " Hume. 

3 Brit. Sancta, Osbern, and Capgrave. * Holinshed. '* Henry. 

6 Holinshed says, Edward was born of a nun named Elfleda, and not of Edgar's 
Queen. 



886 ELFRIDA. 

Even after the coronation was over, the Queen still continued to strive 
by all possible means to get Ethelred's claim acknowledged, and so far 
inveigled Edward by her flattery, that he suffered her to order all the 
affairs of tbe kingdom, retaining for himself merely the title of King. At 
the same time he was, if possible, still more devoted to St. Dunstan and 
his followers than his father had been, so that the nation had every hope 
the reign would be prosperous and happy. All these expectations were, 
however, frustrated by the Queen's ambition, who could not rest tranquil. 
She opposed Dunstan in all ways, and her friends, the opponents of the 
Church in general, destroyed the monasteries which Edgar had built. It 
will be remembered that the enemies of Dunstan and Ethelwold, among 
the clergy, had been ejected, on account of dissolute conduct, from their 
offices. Elfrida, to strengthen the party of Ethelred, declared herself 
openly their patroness, the highest affront which could have been offered 
to Dunstan ; besides which she tried to bias the minds of the great in 
favour of her son. Mercia and Earl Alfer sided with her and with those 
who protected tbe disgraced clergy. Essex and East Anglia, with their 
Earls, sided with the King and Dunstan, to whose will he was subject, 
and who therefore was possessed of great power, yet had to cope with 
one who was as ambitious as himself, and perhaps even more unprinci- 
pled as to the means of gratifying the passion. There was every prospect 
of a civil war, when Elfrida perceived another method of attaining her 
object; she joined in a conspiracy to assassinate Edward, and accident 
shortly after furnished her with an opportunity of effecting her purpose. 1 

The young King had shown, from the first, every mark of respectful 
attention to Elfrida, to whom he had presented the county of Dorset as a 
dowry, affixing to it a royal dignity. 2 

The monarch was returning from a hunting excursion in Dorsetshire, 
near Wareham, not far from which stood Corfe Castle, the residence of 
his mother-in-law and of her son Ethelred. While his companions were 
earnestly pursuing the game, Edward was left alone, and perceiving the 
walls of the castle in the distance, he hastened thither to pay his respects 
with his accustomed courtesy to his mother-in-law, who, on perceiving 
him, with feigned affability welcomed, and invited him to alight and re- 
fresh himself. This, however, Edward declined, but requested a cup of 
wine to be brought him, and at the same time inquired for his brother. 
Whether Elfrida had premeditated this treachery towards her son-in-law, 
or whether the favourable opportunity suggested this act of cruelty, re- 
mains uncertain; she, however, commissioned one of her creatures 3 to 
stab the King in the back, while in the act of drinking. Edward, finding 
himself wounded, spurred his horse to rejoin his friends, but from loss of 
blood fell from his seat, and one of his feet being caught in the stirrup, 
he was dragged for some time by the affrighted animal, who being at 
length arrested near a house on the road side, the mangled corpse was 
found there by some domestics of the Queen, who had tracked him thither 
by the blood, and by commands previously received from Elfrida, they 

1 Gaillard's Rivalite", and others. 3 Turner. 

Knyghton and Burke say the Queen herself did the deed. 



E L F R I D A . 887 

threw the body into a well. 1 As Roger of Wendover relates, " The 
wicked woman Alfdritha, and her son Ethelred, ordered the corpse of the 
king and martyr, St. Edward, to be ignominiously buried at Wareham, 
in the midst of public rejoicing and festivity, as if they had buried his 
memory and his body together; for now that he was dead, they grudged 
him ecclesiastical sepulture, as when he was alive they robbed him of 
royal honour." The young Ethelred, however, deserved not the blame 
even of a participation in this cruel transaction; for he had tenderly loved 
the King his brother, and wept bitterly on hearing the news of his death. 
Elfrida, unable to pacify him, was so much offended, that it is added, 
" having no rod at hand, in the violent paroxysm of her anger, she seized 
some tapers that stood before her, and beat the boy so severely that she 
had almost killed him, too, upon the spot. So terrified was the child that 
he never after could endure to have any of those sort of candles lighted 
before him." 2 The tapers of the middle ages were from five to seven 
pounds iveight, and being placed in candlesticks of silver, formed an 
ornament for the bedchamber of ladies. King Alfred, it is well known, 
caused his candles to be adapted to the measurement of time. Elfrida's 
correction was, therefore, by no means of a gentle kind. 

A MS. Psalter, preserved in the Royal Library at the British Museum, 
having been formerly presented to Queen Mary in 1553, by Baldwin 
Smith, a citizen of London, contains an engraving which represents Ed- 
ward hunting, and his visit to Corfe Castle. The same attendant who 
offers the King a cup of drink, is seen there stabbing him with a dagger. 
One of our modern customs, that of pledging each other at table, arose from 
the circumstances attending the death of Edward. The old Saxon mode of 
pledging, when two persons drank together, was as follows : — " The per- 
son who was going to drink, asked any one of the company that sat next 
him, whether he would pledge him. On which, he answering that he 
would, held up his sword or knife to guard him whilst he drank ; for 
while a man is drinking he necessarily is in an unguarded posture, ex- 
posed to the traitorous stroke of some hidden or secret enemy ; this prac- 
tice originated from the treacherous conduct of Elfrida to her son-in- 
law." 3 

The friends of the deceased King soon discovered the remains of their 
murdered sovereign, and having burnt the body, interred the ashes at 
Wareham. 4 But the deed was not destined to be thus passed over, for 
" the innocent victim " of Elfrida " was ennobled with the grace of mira- 
cles." 5 The King's body, on the night of the murder, 6 had been carried 
into a cottage where a poor woman dwelt, who was maintained by the 
charity of Elfrida : she was blind, but is said to have been restored sud- 
denly to sight. This miraculous circumstance, being reported next morn- 

1 Gaillard's Rivalite', &c. » Holinshecl. 3 Strutt. 

« Gaillard, &c. » Roger of Wendover. 

8 In 1245, Pope Innocent IV. ordained that the day of Edward's murder should 
be kept as a festival : the exact date of the event was March 18th, 979 (Brit. 
Sancta). He had reigned three years. 



888 ELFRIDA. 

ing to the Queen, much affrighted her. 1 The report of the miracle spread, 
and multitudes are said to have resorted to the tomb, whereon such a 
celestial light was shed, that the lame were enabled to walk, the blind to 
see, and the dumb to speak ; all who laboured under any infirmity being 
healed. 2 "Among the rest, the murderess took her journey thither. 
Having mounted her horse, she urged him to go forward, when, lo ! he 
who before outstripped the winds, and was full of ardour to bear his mis- 
tress, now, by the will of God, stood immovable; nor could her attend- 
ants move him at all with their shouts and blows : their labour was still 
in vain, when another horse was put in his place." 3 Neither the horse 
which the Queen rode, nor any other, would approach the spot, in spite 
of whips and spurs, and every other means tried to make them go for- 
ward. On which the murderess perceived " how great had been her 
offence against God, in shedding the blood of the innocent; and she 
repented deeply of her sin, 4 and gave up her intention of visiting the 
tomb, resolving to pass the rest of her days in penance and prayer :" of 
this resolve she evidently put off the accomplishment. So many mira- 
cles indeed were wrought by the sainted King, who, for his death, was 
surnamed " the Martyr/' that it was thought desirable to transfer his 
relics to a more fitting receptacle. Some say, this holy ceremony was 
performed by his sister St. Editha ; others relate that Earl Elfery, who 
was one of the most forward partizans of Elfrida, and had been one of 
those who destroyed the monasteries of the monks, bitterly repenting of his 
fault, removed the King's sacred body from that mean place, three years 
after, with great solemnity, to the monastery at Shaftesbury. 5 

The Saxon Chronicle 6 notices Edward's murder in these terms : — 

«' There has not been 'mid Angles 
A worse deed done 
Than this was, 
Since they first 
Britain-land sought. 
Men him murdered, 
But God him glorified. 
He was in life 
An earthly king; 
He is now after death 
A heavenly saint. 
Him would not his earthly 

Kinsmen avenge, 
But him hath his Heavenly Father 

Greatly avenged. 
The earthly murderers 
Would his memory 
On earth blot out, 

1 Brit. Sancta. A church was afterwards built upon the spot, to commemorate 
the restoration of the blind woman to sight. 

2 Roger of Wendover. 3 Ibid. 
4 Holinshed, Roger of Wendover. 

8 " Though, even this way, he did not escape condign punishment, being eaten 
with worms in the following year." — Roger of Wendover. 
6 Saxon Chronicle ; Brit. Sancta. 



E L F R I D A . 389 

But the Lofty Avenger 
Hath his memory 
In the heavens 
And on earth wide spread. 
They who would not erewhile 
To his living 
Body bow down, 
They now humbly 
On knees bend 
To his dead bones. 
Now we may understand 
That men's wisdom, 
And their devices, 
And their councils, 
Are like nought 
'Gainst God's resolves." 

Ethelred "Atheling," or the "Noble," for whom Elfrida had been 
guilty of so great a crime, was too young at the time to be considered an 
accomplice in her guilt, yet it was with no small repugnance that the 
prelates and thanes bestowed on him a crown bought with the price of 
blood. 1 Dunstan more especially felt this, yet was compelled to anoint 
Ethelred, a measure not to be avoided. The ceremony of inauguration 
took place at Kingston-on-Thames, Sunday, April the 24th. 2 The new 
monarch, who is described as " a rare youth of a graceful person, fair 
countenance, and lofty stature, received the royal diadem from Dunstan 
of Canterbury, and Oswald of York, in the presence of ten bishops and 
the rest of the assembled clergy and nobles." 3 Dunstan is said on this 
occasion to have been moved, by a prophetic spirit, to declare to the 
young Prince, all the calamities to which the kingdom would be exposed 
during his reign in the following words : — " Because thou hast aspired to 
the crown by the death of thy brother, whom thy mother hath murdered, 
therefore hear the word of the Lord : the sword shall not depart from 
thy house, but shall furiously rage all the days of thy life, killing thy 
seed, till such time as thy kingdom shall be given to a people whose 
customs and language the nation thou now governest know not : neither 
shall thy sin, the sin of thy mother, and the sin of those men who were 
partakers of her counsels, and executors of her wicked design, be ex- 
piated but by a long and most severe vengeance." 4 Dunstan survived this 
event nine years, at the end of which he died, A. D. 988, after having 
witnessed the reigns of five inonarchs, and part of that of a sixth, viz., 
Ethelred. 

This last event took place many years before the decease of Elfrida, 
who survived her worst enemy and greatest rival. Indeed, it was pro- 
bably the ascendency of the Queen's faction which embittered and short- 
ened Dunstan's life ; for Edward the Martyr, ruled by his counsels, would 
have carried on everything as Edgar his father had left it ; but, as Dun- 
stan had perceived from the first, the ascendency of the mother of 

1 The usual atonement for murder, called the Weregild, was paid by Elfrida at 
the time of Edward's death. — Lingard. * a. d. 979. 

3 Roger of Wendover. " Holinshed. 

33* 



390 ELF RID A. 

Ethelred, and such as took part with her under her son's authority, was 
likely enough " to turn all upside down." ' One of the motives attri- 
buted to Elfrida for the commission of Edward's murder, was her desire 
to subvert the authority of Dunstan. In this, however, she was unsuc- 
cessful, and gained only the popular aversion; for neither remorse nor 
hypocrisy could ever reinstate her in the public opinion. 

But even yet Elfrida's crimes were not ended : in the year 981 another 
murder stained her guilty hand. Turner remarks as singular, the fact 
that this circumstance of the murder of Brithnoth, first Abbot of Ely, 
by Elfrida, should have escaped historians in general, being merely noticed 
in the following manner in the history of Ely : 2 — "It happened that, on 
a certain day, the Abbot Bridnod set out for King Ethelred's court, on 
affairs of the Church. When near Geldesdune, on his way through the 
wood called New Forest, he is said to have turned aside in search of 
some secluded spot for prayer, where, by accident, he discovered the 
Queen iElstritha engaged under a tree, in her practices of witchcraft. 
The Queen uttered an expression of consternation at being detected, but 
the holy man, inwardly troubled, retreated as quickly as possible from 
the spot, and proceeded on his way to the court. Here he was magni- 
ficently received by the King, and having speedily accomplished the purpose 
of his journey, was on the point of returning home, rejoicing in the 
royal munificence. Not willing, however, to shame the Queen, though 
abhorrent, he first went to seek an interview with her, which she, when 
aware of his coming, desired might be strictly private, under a pretext 
of her requiring spiritual counsel. Summoning some women of her 
household, devoted to her will, she gave orders that he should be put to 
death. That no wound might appear on the body, the. perpetrators were 
instructed to pierce him beneath the armpits with bodkins till he expired. 
Whereupon she cried out as if terrified by a sudden calamity. The ser- 
vants and companions of the Abbot run to the spot, and hear with groans, 
of the previous arrival and sudden death of their master: with much 
grief and lamentation they place his body on a vehicle, and convey it 
back to Ely, where, not detecting any visible marks of violence, they 
commit it to the tomb. Thus was the first abbot of the holy church of 
Ely martyred, 3 by the contrivance of a good-for-nothing woman, pre- 
ferring to fall into human hands, rather than to transgress the divine law, 
earning for his soul eternal joy in heaven, where he shall reign with all 
saints. 

" As to the Queen, no one presumed even to whisper a suspicion, or 
bring an evil report upon her. And this matter might have continued 
to be hidden from all, had not she herself, by the divine mercy, been 
seized with compunction for her witchcrafts and abominable practices, and 
especially for the death of the glorious King Edward, her eldest son, to 
whose murder, (to make a way to the throne for Ethelred, her subsequent 
issue) she confessed, and for which deed she raised, at her own expense, 
the Convent of Werewelle. Here she spent the remainder of her days 

1 Holinshed. 2 Gale's Scriptores Hist. Elieni. 

' Some records place the event in a. d. 981. 



ELFRIDA. 391 

in grief and penitence, and detailed with groans and anguish, the manner 
in which she had slain Bridnod, Abbot of Ely, as above related." l 

Elfrida's motive in this act, was as usual, her desire for power. The 
whole of the isle of Ely, had been purchased of King Edgar for a small 
sum, by Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, one of the Dunstan party, 
who in the year 1)70, placed in the monastery he had renewed, an abbot 
and monks, for whom he obtained many privileges from the monarch, 
with whom he was a great favorite. This abbot was Briduoth, one of his 
own monks. Elfrida, after Ethelred's advancement to the throne, still 
maintained her spleen against Dunstan. Brithnoth had come to court on 
this occasion concerning matters connected with his church, and having 
succeeded in his mission, was about to depart with a joyful heart, when 
the Queen interfered and caused the Abbot's assassination. The "magic 
practices" he was said to have witnessed, were probably some of the 
Danish rites, or she had been consulting the wise-women on her own 
future destiny and that of Dunstan. Brithnoth had ruled Ely eleven 
years from his first appointment, and on his death, Elsy, or Elfsy, was 
appointed abbot in his place, by King Ethelred. 2 The brotherhood of 
Ely had their suspicions on the suddenness of their former abbot's de- 
cease, but the power of Elfrida silenced all. Not long after Brithnoth's 
murder, we find that, at the invitation of Bishop Ethelwold, the young 
King and his mother went, with several of the nobility, to visit the church 
of Ely, and took the opportunity to go in procession to the tomb of St. 
Etheldreda; when the young monarch, having a great love and affection 
for the Saint, promised, in the presence of all who were there assembled, 
to become from henceforth her devoted servant. In consequence, Ethel- 
red afterwards, on several occasions testified great kindness and regard for 
that church, and as a particular mark of favour, was "pleased to grant 
that the head of the church of Ely should hold and enjoy the office and 
dignity of Chancellor in the King's court : the like he also granted to two 
other churches, viz., St. Augustine's in Canterbury, and Glastonbury, 
thus dividing the chancellorship between the abbots of those three mo- 
nasteries, who were to enjoy the office by turns." 3 

Elfrida was obviously desirous of making her peace with the offended 
clergy through the grants of Ethelred, then but twelve years of age. Of 
course it was she who held the administration of Church and State affairs, 
for a weakness of character was apparent in Ethelred from an early age, 
which was in a great measure attributable to the tyrannical and arbitrary 
influence maintained over him by his mother. As the King grew older 
this influence gradually declined, until Elfrida, finding herself the object 
of popular aversion, became aware that her power was at an end : on 
which, pretending to be moved by her conscience, she determined to bid 
farewell to the court, 4 and to close her days in a monastery, the usual re- 
source of baffled ambition in these days. She accordingly founded in 

1 Rog. of Wend. a Dugdale. 

3 Dugdale ; who places the visit of Ethelred in his brother's reign ; but as Brid- 
noth was dead, and Elfsy abbot, it was plainly during his own. 

4 Lingard. 



392 ELFRIDA. 

986, the Monastery of Werewell, 1 in expiation of the deaths of her first 
husband, Earl Ethelwold, and her son-in-law, Edward the Martyr ; and 
within the walls of this edifice, of the Benedictine order, the yet beauti- 
ful Elfrida, renouncing her worldly grandeur, the incentive to her many 
crimes, exchanged the robes of royalty for sackcloth, and having professed 
herself a nun, dwelt in mourning and great penitence, a great part of her 
remaining life f here she practised every kind of austerity. " Her flesh, 
which she had nourished in delicacy, she mortified with haircloth at Wher- 
well," 3 sleeping on the ground, and afflicting her body with all kinds of 
sufferings, 4 such as fasting and various kinds of penance. Although the 
weregild, the price of murder, had been paid, the guilty Queen was a prey 
to remorse and apprehension, and among other self-inflicted punishments, 
is said to have " worn armour, made of little crosses, which she thought 
could alone secure her from an imaginary phantom, or evil spirit, which 
incessantly haunted her imagination." 6 Nor was private mortification 
enough ; Elfrida tried to atone for her misdeeds by the publicity of her 
repentance, yet could she never reinstate herself in public opinion. 6 She 
expended large sums on the poor, and in building churches and monaste- 
ries, to the amount of her whole patrimony. 7 Elfrida founded a monas- 
tery at Andover, and another at Ambresbury in Wiltshire, a town on the 
Upper Avon. This last was founded A. D. 980, in expiation of the mur- 
der of Edward the Martyr ; it was of the Benedictine order, and com- 
mended to the patronage of St. Mary, and St. Meliorus, a Cornish saint, 
whose relics were preserved there. 8 

Another abbey, or rather a small nunnery, was erected by her at Read- 
ing, on the spot now occupied by St. Mary's Church, being the third 
edifice founded in 980, the year after King Edward's death : 9 Henry I. 
suppressed this A. D. 1120, but the following year built a magnificent 
abbey there for two hundred Benedictine monks, which he dedicated to 
the honour of God, our Lady, and St. John the Evangelist, and appro- 
priated to its use the revenues of the earlier foundation. 

Elfrida's rapacity is seen in all her actions. Wulfreda, the injured nun 
of Wilton, had presided many years over the Monastery of Barking, 
when some dissensions arose between her and the priests of Barking, who 
referred their cause to Elfrida, requesting her to eject Wulfreda, and 
assume the goverment in her own person. To this proposal Elfrida readily 
assented, and on the Queen's assuming the presidency of the Monastery 
of Barking, Wulfreda was forced to retire to a religious house, which she 
had founded at Horton, in Devonshire. 10 Elfrida presided at Barking for 
twenty years, at the end of which, while still residing there, she was 
seized with a violent sickness, and in the probable dread of approaching 
dissolution, repenting the injury she had done Wulfreda, she caused her 

1 " Wherwell." — Dugdale. ° Dugdale, Brit. Sancta. 

3 Roger of Wendover, Holinshed. 4 Clavis Calendaria. 

» Lingard. 6 Holinshed, Gaillard, Bicknell, Lysons's Magna Brit. 

Dugdale. a Britton and Brayley. 

» Leland, Camden, Speed. 10 Britton and Brayley. 



ELFRIDA. 393 

to be reinstated in her former situation. Seven years afterwards AVulfreda 
died in London, whither she had retired to avoid the Danish army then 
invading England. This retaliation of Elfrida on her former rival in the 
King's affections, at so distant a period, marks how deeply the feelings of 
jealousy and revenge were implanted in her bosom. 

Elfrida retired from Barking to Wherwell, where she died in 1002, in 
a state of extreme penitence, and at a very advanced age. 1 King Ethel- 
red granted Wherwell, in the year of his mother's death, a charter of 
confirmation, on account of its being the place in which she ended her 
days, and which contained her last remains. 2 

1 Dugdale. 2 Ibid. 



EMMA OF NORMANDY, 

SURNAMED "THE PEARL," QUEEN OF ETHELRED "THE UNREADY," 
AND CANUTE " THE GREAT." 

The Pearl of Normandy — Parentage of Emma — Quarrels settled — Emma's Mar- 
riage with Ethelred, 1002, at Winchester — She receives the popular name of 
Elfgiva — Unsuitableness of Ethelred — His personal appearance — The songs of 
Gunnlaugr the Scald — The Sagas : their value — Danegelt, its odiousness to the 
English — Massacre of the Danes on the Eve of St. Brice — Gunilda's fate — Her 
anathema — Emma's sorrow concealed — The neglect of Ethelred towards his 
wife — She appeals to her brother — Anger of the Duke of Normandy — Recon- 
ciliation — Hugh and Alwyn — Siege of Exeter — Oath of fealty to Emma's un- 
born babe — Birth of her son, Edward the Confessor — Alfred, the eldest son, set 
aside on account of a prophecy — Emma flies from the troubles in England, 
with her children, to Normandy — Remains there two years — They are followed 
by Ethelred — "Unready" a title fitting for the weak King — London Bridge is 
broken down — Edmund Ironside — Algitha at Malmesbury Abbey — Death of 
Ethelred — Canute marries Emma — Her weight in gold — Influence of Emma — 
Mutual attachment — Danish Dandies — Drinking-cups — Back-gammon — Poets 
— Story of Canute and his courtiers — Splendid gifts to abbeys — The King's 
verses — Vauland, the smith — Hardicanute and Gunilda — King Olaf — Death of 
Canute — Earl Godwin's power — Treacherous letter to Emma's sons — Murder 
of Alfred ■ — Suspicions — Harold — Emma's exile and return — Hardicanute — 
The gilded ship — The dwarf Mimicon — Death of Hardicanute — Edward suc- 
ceeds — His conduct to his mother — The trial of the ploughshares — Triumph — 
Death of Emma. 

The first alliance between the English and the Normans, who after- 
wards ruled England with such despotic sway, took place in 1002, when 
Emma, who for her beauty was surnamed " the Pearl of Normandy," 
became the wife of Ethelred, the reigning monarch. 

The family of Emma was of Scandinavian origin. Rollo, or Robert, 
her great-grandfather, after an unsuccessful invasion of England, in the 
reign of Alfred, had turned his arms against the natives of the neigh- 
bouring coast of France, who, finding themselves unable to oppose their 
warlike invaders, offered Robert a settlement in their territories. Charles 
the Simple, then on the French throne, yielded to Rollo part of the Pro- 
vince of Neustria, and bestowed on him at the same time the hand of his 
daughter Gisla, on condition that the Dane should do him homage as a 
vassal. The territory ceded to Rollo from that time went by the name 
of Normandy; and the Duke, when he died, bequeathed it to his son, 
Duke William I., who held it for twenty-five years. This prince was 
succeeded by Richard his son, then a minor, whose wife was Agnes, 
daughter of Hugh the Great, Earl of Paris, by whom he had no children. 
Bv Gunnora, his second wife, he had three sons, Richard, Robert, and 

(394) 



E M M A . 395 

Mauger ; and three daughters, Einuia-Agnes, Helloie or Alix, and Maud. 
The eldest of these princesses, named after Richard's first consort, was 
afterwards Queen of England, Alix espoused Geoffrey, Earl of Bretagne, 
and Maud became the wife of Eudes, Earl of Chartres and Blois. 

Ethelred, King of England, had cpuarrelled with Duke Richard I., on 
some subject which has not been handed down to us. A fleet was pre- 
pared by Ethelred for the invasion of Normandy, and Richard, on his 
part, arrested all the English pilgrims and merchants in his dominions, 
pome of whom he threw into prison, while others he condemned to death. 
Pope John XV. employed his legate Leo, Bishop of Treves, to reconcile 
the contending princes. Leo visited first Ethelred, and afterwards Richard, 
and, at his request, commissioners were appointed to meet at Rouen, 
when it was agreed that all ancient causes of dissension should be for- 
gotten, that a perpetual peace should subsist between the King of England 
and the Marquess ' of Normandy, their children born and to be born, and 
all their true liege-men ; that every infraction of this peace should be 
repaired by satisfactory compensation ; and that neither prince should 
harbour the subjects nor the enemies of the other, without a written per- 
mission. 2 This, the oldest treaty now extant between any of our kings 
and a foreign power, is drawn up in the name of the Pope, and confirmed 
by the oaths and marks of one bishop and two thanes on the part of 
Ethelred, and of one bishop and two barons on the part of Richard : 3 it 
was signed at Rouen, March 1st, 991. 

In the eighth year after Ethelred's accession, he had married Ethel- 
gina, daughter of Earl Thorold, by whom he had five children, Edmond, 
surnamed Ironside, for his strength of mind and body, Edwy, and three 
daughters. The Queen dying in 1002, Ethelred sent ambassadors to 
Normandy to demand the hand of Emma, sister of the reigning duke, 
Richard II. It is not unlikely that some overtures had been made at an 
earlier period, prior to Ethelred's first marriage, for this beautiful prin- 
cess, who was then but a child; for Roger of Wendover says that Emma 
was the cause of the quarrel between her father and Ethelred, but no 
particulars have reached us. 

Duke Richard II. gave a most honourable reception to the English 
embassy. The negotiation for the marriage was speedily concluded, and 
the same year that witnessed the death of Ethelgina, saw the young and 
blooming " Flower of Normandy " solemnly bestowed on the recently 
widowed King. In Lent, 1002, the new Queen came over to England, 
attended by a numerous retinue of French men and women. 4 The nup- 
tial ceremony was performed at Winchester, which, from that time, be- 
came a favourite residence of Emma, and was the spot in which she 
passed the earlier years of her married life. Both Saxon and Norman 
chroniclers unite in representing the youthful Queen Emma 5 as in a pecu- 

1 The title of Marquess or Duke is indiscriminately used, in the treaty, for the 
father of Emma. 

3 Malmesbury says that the subjects of either Prince were to be provided with 
passports under seal, in travelling through the other's dominions. 

3 Lingard. " Ingulphus, Gale, Saxon Chronicle. 

6 Gemma and Yrnma, Iiuma and Erne are various readings of the name Emma, 



396 EMMA. 

liar degree gifted with elegance and beauty ; so that many flattering epi- 
thets had been bestowed on her — as "the Pearl," "the Flower/' or "the 
Fair Maid " of Normandy. As she readily adopted the manners of the 
English on her arrival, she became so much beloved by them as to receive 
the popular surname of Elfgifa, the Elf or " Fairy Gift," and is called in 
the Saxon Chronicle Emma Elfgiva : several of her female predecessors 
among the queens-consort of England having, as has been before named, 
assumed this title, in honour of the wife of Edmund the Pious. 

Ethelred was much older than Emma, being about thirty-four years of 
age at the time of his second marriage, and in some respects exceedingly 
unsuited to win the affections of the young and lovely bride whom he had 
selected. The son of Elfrida, who had perhaps herself witnessed the 
second nuptials of Ethelred, or at least lived to counsel them, inherited 
his mother's beauty of person, with many of its accompanying vices. 
He is represented to have been "a tall, handsome man, elegant in man- 
ners, beautiful in countenance, and interesting in his deportment;" ' yet 
Malmesbury characterises his personal appearance, sarcastically calling 
him " a fine deeping figure." Amongst other weaknesses, he was open 
to flattery, as is evident from the patronage he afforded to Gunnlaugr the 
Scald, who, having sailed to London from Norway, presented himself to 
the king with an heroic poem which he had composed on the royal 
virtues. 

The adulatory style of this composition, which the author sang be- 
fore the English Monarch, may be seen by the following lines : — 

"The soldiers of the King, and his subjects, 
The powerful army of England, 

Obey Ethelred, 
As if he was an angel of the beneficent Deity." 

Ethelred, having listened to the poet, bestowed on him in return for his 
verse " a purple tunic, lined with the richest furs, and adorned with 
fringe," and gave him an appointment within the palace. On his de- 
parture from the court, in the following spring, Gunnlaugr received from 
his royal patron a gold ring, of the weight of seven ounces, accompanied 
by a request that he would return in the autumn. The Scald visited 
Ireland and sang : " the king there wished to give him two ships, but 
was told by his treasurer that poets had always clothes, or swords, or gold 
rings given them. Gunnlaugr accordingly had a present of fine garments 
and a gold ring." In the Orkneys he was rewarded with a silver axe. 

The Scalds were persons of some importance, and having much in 
their power, were generally well treated by those monarchs who were 
anxious for their good report. They were, says Laing, a kind of " wan- 
dering scholars, natives generally of Iceland, and a class of more conse- 
quence than mere amusement at a court could have made them." 2 They 
were, in fact, the recorders of events, and many of their songs, or sagas, 
are family annals. " They were frequently employed as messengers and 

which some say is identical with Amy, in Latin written Amata and Eutrophine ; 
in Greek it signifies a good nurse, or help-giver, as the Saxons say. 

1 Turner, from Gunnlaugr Saga. a Laing's Norway. 



E M M A . 397 

ambassadors, who carried the tokens which monarchs or nobles exchanged 
with each other. These tokens were not merely gifts, but had a meaning 
known to the personages, and accredited the messenger." Such per- 
sonages were necessary at a time when reading and writing were rare 
accomplishments amongst princes. 

" The language of the Scalds seems to have been understood at the 
courts of all the branches of the Scandinavian people ; the same Scald 
appears to have visited on business or pleasure the courts of Rouen, of 
England, of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and there is no mention of 
any difficulty arising from difference of language in any of the transac- 
tions of individuals. These were frequently adventurers passing from 
the service of one monarch to another." ' 

The sagas are extremely valuable, as the Scalds recorded the passing 
events of the time, and any falsehood or exaggeration would have been 
detected by contemporaries. 

Ethelred had made the alliance with Normandy from policy, to gain 
aid against his formidable enemies, the Danes, who at that time were 
incorpoi'ated among the English, and led a careless and easy life, treating 
them as though they were their servants and drudges, while their wives 
and daughters became slaves to their pleasure, whence they had even 
obtained the epithet of " Lord Danes." Great part, indeed, of England 
had a government according to Danelagh. All this had been brought 
about by the pusillanimity of Ethelred, who, instead of meeting his foes 
in fair and open strife, had bought off their hostilities by a yearly sum 
of money, known under the name of Dane-gelt, long the most odious tax 
felt in England. Every year these intruders became more dangerous and 
increasingly powerful, and by degrees settled in the very heart of his 
dominions. Ethelred, therefore, in marrying Emma, whose mother Gun- 
nora, was descended of an eminent Danish family, expected the alliance 
would be instrumental in obliging the Danes to ameliorate their conduct, 2 
if, indeed, he could not obtain of Duke Eichard's assistance to wholly extir- 
pate them from the country, which groaned beneath their tyranny. In 
these calculations, however, Ethelred was grievously mistaken. The 
Normans and Danes were, as has been shown, descended from the same 
stock, 3 and the Norman Duke did not perceive any motive sufficiently 
strong, as regarded his own interest, to induce him to embroil himself in 
war with the relatives of his mother for the sake of entering into the 
schemes of the husband of his sister Emma. Whether Ethelred was so 
blind as to believe that his new ally would sanction the unparalleled act 
of cruelty of which he was guilty, in the very year of his marriage, and 
almost before the rejoicings for that event were over, it seems hard to 
believe ; yet so puffed up was the weak King with his notion of ncwly- 
aequircd power that, instigated by his favourites, he gave orders for a 
general massacre of the Danes throughout the country. The day before 

' Liiing's Norway. a Echard. 

a "The Earls of Rouen are descended from Gange Rolf; they have long reck 
oned themselves of kin to the chiefs in Norway, and hold them in such respect, 
that they always were the greatest friends of the Northmen, and every Northman 
found a friendly country in Normandy, if he required it." — Snorro. 
34 



398 EMMA. 

St. Brice's Day, secret letters were sent by Ethelred to every city, com- 
manding the English at an appointed hour to destroy the Danes by fire 
and sword. 1 Neither age nor sex was spared — men, women, and children 
being mercilessly slaughtered; the Saxon females even falling on their 
helpless foes, unarmed, and on a day of festival, maiming with scythes 
and reaping-hooks those whom they could not kill. Amongst those who 
perished was Gunilda, sister of Sweyn, the Danish monarch, who had been 
given as a hostage for the treaty of peace concluded between her brother 
and the perfidious Ethelred. Having embraced Christianity, and married 
Palling, a Saxon courtier, she had settled in this country. This noble 
lady beheld her husband and children massacred before her eyes : she 
herself was killed by strokes from a lance. In the agony of her grief 
for the loved ones who were falling around her, her words to the Saxon 
murderers were, " God will punish you, and my brother will avenge my 
death." Her prophetic denunciation was fulfilled, for England not long 
after sunk beneath the Danish yoke. 2 

Those who seek an excuse for such an act on the part of Ethelred, 
assert that he had cause to suspect the Danes of a plot to murder him 
and his Witan, and to seize upon the kingdom. This was the pretext for 
the atrocious action of which he was guilty, and which, instead of con- 
solidating his power, annihilated the peace and security of the kingdom. 
At a moment when he had just formed an alliance with Emma, descended 
of the same blood as the victims, the policy of this massacre was singu- 
larly shortsighted. The young Queen's horror must have been extreme 
when she found that the solemnities and festivities of her marriage were 
thus converted into a scene of general bloodshed and mourning. The 
spirit of the ruthless Elfrida seems to have governed Ethelred on this 
occasion ; and perhaps Emma's indignant sorrows were checked by him 
as violently as when his mother had beaten him "with waxen candles," 
when mourning over the murder of his own brother, Edward the Martyr, 
the victim of her ambition. 

There were other causes for trouble in the mind of Emma, who, though, 
possessed of unrivalled beauty, had failed in securing the affections of her 
husband. From the time of their marriage, the King had neglected her 
company, and associated with unworthy favourites, both male and female. 3 
Emma felt this deeply : she had been idolised by her own countrymen, and 
was beloved by her new Saxon subjects. Young, lovely, learned, and 
highly accomplished, she felt that the treatment of Ethelred was so de- 
grading to her merit, that she resolved at length to return to Normandy. 
Roger of Wendover seems to infer faults on her side, as well as on that 
of her husband ; but he acknowledges that " the King was so petulant 
to his wife," that he would scarcely admit her to his intimacy; and she, 
on her part, " proud of her high descent, and irritated against him, 
blackened him in no small degree to her father." 4 The Duke of Nor- 

1 Rapin compares the Danish massacre to that of the Romans under Boadicea. 
The day selected for it was Sunday, too, the festival of St. Brice, when they were 
unarmed and taking their bath. 

a Rivalite" de France et de l'Angleterre. 3 Holinshed. 

4 It should he her brother. 



E M M A . 399 

inanely, on receiving the account sent by Emma of her ill-treatment, 
despatched messengers to fetch her back to her own country ; but, alarmed 
at the probable consequences, Ethelred thought it better to reconcile his 
Queen, which having effected, the Norman ambassadors returned without 
her. From that time, however, the Duke exhibited much coldness to- 
wards Ethelred, doubtless being aware of the hollowness of the apparent 
reconciliation ; and when Ethelred sought his assistance against the Danes, 
he could not obtain attention to his request. 

The expectations that Emma's marriage would turn out very advanta- 
geous to England, therefore, failed altogether. The Normans, on the 
contrary, instead of procuring defenders for England, brought across the 
sea " place-hunters" and ambitious men, craving money and dignities ; ' 
and this introduction of the Norman was the first link of a chain of 
events which led to the entire subversion of England, and afforded an op- 
portunity for William of Normandy to lay claim to the throne, which he 
obtained by art and force of arms. 2 

Two persons had come over to England in the train of Emma, who 
were destined to act a prominent part in her eventful career, and had been 
received with great honour by Ethelred. These were Hugh and Alwyn, 
both Normans by birth. The latter was of high rank, being a relative 
of the ducal family, and accordingly had escorted the young Queen in the 
capacity of ''counsellor or guardian." 3 On his arrival he was made su- 
perintendent of the royal household, and created Earl of Southampton. 
The courage and fidelity of Alwyn were afterwards of great service to 
Ethelred during his wars against the Danes; and at a later period still 
his history becomes involved more particularly with that of Queen Emma, 
to whose fortunes he ever remained a firm and tried friend. Hugh, the 
other Norman attendant on the Queen, was, at her request, created Go- 
vernor of Exeter, 4 with the title of Earl of Devonshire. Emma herself 
was " Lady" of Exeter. He does not appear to have been equally 
faithful, to judge by the events which followed. 

In the year succeeding that of Emma's marriage and the Danish mas- 
sacre, Exeter was besieged by King Sweyn (a. d. 1003) ; for that Ethel- 
red had privately put to death all the Danes in the several cities of 
England, had reached the ears of the brother of the injured Gunilda, who, 
at the head of a great navy, landed in Cornwall, burning with rage and 
indignation. Exeter bravely sustained a siege from the Danes for the 
space of two months, but at the end of that time was finally taken " by 
the treachery of Hugh, its governor, the Queen's countryman." On the 
surrender of the city, Sweyn put all to fire and sword, and razed it to the 
ground, besides taking great plunder. 5 

Turketil, at that period, describing the condition of the English to 
Sweyn, says, " a country illustrious and powerful ; a king asleep, solici- 

1 Thierry's Norman Conquest. 

2 Holinshed. 3 Milner. * Caradoc, Fabian, Saxon Chronicle. 

s Exeter was afterwards restored by Canute, but appears to have been still 
attached to the Queens of England ; for after the Conquest, we find it holding out 
against William, under Githa, the mother of Harold. 



400 EMMA. 

tous only about women and wine, and trembling at war; hated by his 
people, and derided by strangers; generals envious of each other; and 
weak governors, ready to fly at the first shout of battle." ' It is said of 
Elfric, a Saxon bishop of that time, that " he considered the state of 
things so bad that he believed doom's-day to be approaching, and the 
world very near its end." 2 

About this time, Emma was called to be present at a very affecting 
and remarkable scene, peculiarly characteristic of the superstition of the 
times. The Queen had already become mother of one son by Ethelred, 
to whom the name of Alfred had been given, and she was a second time 
about to give birth to a child, who afterwards wore the crown under the 
title of Edward the Confessor. The great rapidity and progress of the 
conquests of the Danes, owing to the pusillanimous and tardy conduct of 
Ethelred, justly surnamed "the Unready," from being never prepared to 
face his foes, caused a great council to be held, to deliberate on the affairs 
of the kingdom, then nearly overrun by the enemy. On this occasion, 
Queen Emma was present; and Ethelred, being desirous of appointing a 
successor, requested the opinion of the council. Some recommended 
Edmond " Ironside," son of his first Queen, so surnamed on account of 
his bodily strength, while others gave the preference to Alfred, the son 
of Emma, still in his infancy : yet, it having been predicted by one of 
the assembly that the former should enjoy but a very short life, and that 
the latter should perish immaturely, the wishes of all concentred on the 
child of which the Queen was then pregnant; and the King, assenting to 
this election, the nobility took an oath of fealty to the unborn babe. 3 In 
the first compartment of the screen which adorns the chapel of King 
Edward the Confessor, at Westminster, this subject is represented. In 
this piece of sculpture Queen Emma appears standing in the midst of a 
large assembly, with her left hand upon her waist. All the figures 
appear to have the right arm extended upwards, as if in the act of swear- 
ing allegiance. 4 

Emma gave birth to her son Edward at Islip, in Oxfordshire, and the 
second compartment of the before-mentioned screen in the chapel of St. 
Edward represents the event. It is curious on account of its containing 
in sculpture the ancient form of a state-bed : 5 in the back-ground are two 
of the Queen's attendants with the infant prince in their arms. At a 
subsequent period, Edward the Confessor received the town which had 
been the scene of his nativity, from his mother, Queen Emma, for his 
own maintenance ; and long after, when he came to the throne, he be- 
stowed that place, among other royal gifts, on the Abbey of Westminster, 
so that it became the country-residence first of the abbots, and then of 

1 Malmesbury ; Kemble's Saxons in Britain. 2 Turner. 

3 Life of Edward the Confessor ; Neale's Westminster Abbey. 4 Neale. 

6 A bed, of a very simple construction, is exhibited in Strutt's Saxon Antiqui- 
ties, plate 13, fig. 2. It seems to be nothing more than a thick boarded bottom ; 
the covering is very thin, and the pillow stiff and hard ; in short, from the view 
of the whole together, ease was but little considered. This (though so rude in 
appearance), being a royal bed, is ornamented with curtains, which are fastened 
to the top, but they had also others that slid with rings on an iron rod. 



EMMA. 401 

the deans of Westminster. In Edward's original charter, he speaks of 
it in terms thus translated : l " Edward, king, greeteth Wlsy, bishop, and 
Gyrth, earl, and all my nobles in Oxfordshire. And I tell you that I 
have given to Christ and St. Peter at Westminster, that small village 
wherein 1 was born, by name Githslepe, 2 and one hide at Mersie, scot- 
free and rent-free, with all the things which belong thereunto, in wood 
and field, in meadows and waters, with church and with the immunities 
of the church, as fully and as largely, and as free, as it stood in mine 
own hand j and also as my mother Emma, upon my right of primogeni- 
ture, for my maintenance, gave it me entire, and bequeathed it to the 
family." 3 

Emma and her children had been sent to the Isle of Wight for safety, 
from Winchester, which was threatened with destruction by the advancing 
army of Sweyn ; Ethelred himself remaining in London, in a state of 
inactivity and apprehension, neither daring to assemble or to lead an army 
against his enemies, "lest the nobles of his realm, who had been unjustly 
treated by him, should desert him in the battle, and give him up to the 
vengeance of his foes/' Tormented by these distressing apprehensions, 
the wretched King secretly withdrew from the city of London, and 
arriving at Southampton, crossed over to the Isle of Wight, whence he 
dispatched Queen Emma, with his two sons Alfred and Edward, and their 
guardians Elfhun, Bishop of Durham, and Elfsey, Abbot of Peter- 
borough, into Normandy to Duke Richard her brother, who received them 
with honour and respect. Eadric, too, King Ethelred's kinsman, crossed 
over with the Queen, and a hundred and forty soldiers, and resided with 
her two years, attending her with great state. They crossed the sea in 
the month of August. 4 The Bishop of London also accompanied the 
Queen and her family as their protector. 5 The royal party carried with 

1 Kennett's Parochial Antiquities. 2 Islip. 

3 The King appears to have claimed the power, not only of disposing of the 
benefice or fee after the death of the tenant, but also of controlling the distribu- 
tion of his other possessions. Hence the vassal in his will was always anxious to 
obtain the confirmation of his superior, and to make provision for the payment 
of what was termed by the Saxons the heriot, by the Normans the relief. El- 
phelm, after leaving his heriot to the King, concludes his will in these words: — 
"And now I beseech thee, my beloved lord, that my last testament may stand, 
and that thou do not permit it to be annulled." 

The heriot was to be paid "within twelve months from the death of the last 
possessor: and was apportioned to the rank which he bore in the State." [Lin- 
gard, Sir H. Ellis, &c] The payment preserved the estate in his family, if he 
died intestate, or was remitted in case of his falling in battle in his lord's service. 
In the stormy season of Ethelred's warfare against the Danes, and probably with 
a view to the future welfare of her children, in the event of her quitting England 
for her brother's protection, Emma adopted this precaution. The heriot, or be- 
quest of Queen Elfgifa, in 1012, we are told, was as follows: — "She left the 
King six horses, six shields, six spears, one cup, two rings, worth one hundred 
and twenty mancuses each, and various lands." 

The word heriot signifies "habiliments of war," and Canute was the first who 
established the compulsory heriot in England. 

4 Roger of Wendover, Fabian, Ran. Higden. 

5 "And the King sent Bishop Elfhun, with the Ethelings Edward and Alfred, 
over sea, that he might have charge of them." — Roger of Wendover. 

34* 2 a 



402 EMMA. 

them the treasures of Ethelred, either for security, or to obtain, through 
their medium, assistance from the Duke, in the recovery of their king- 
dom ; ' among other valuables, Queen Emma took with her, " an incom- 
parable copy of the Gospels, such as had never before been seen in Nor- 
mandy," which she presented to the Church of St. Peter. 2 

Having obtained a favourable reception for herself, 3 and ascertained the 
friendly disposition of her relatives towards Ethelred, Queen Emma per- 
suaded her husband to throw himself on the hospitality of his Norman 
neighbours. Accordingly, " when King Ethelred heard of the honour- 
able reception they had met with, he followed himself in the month of 
January, and laid all his troubles before the noble Duke, who much com- 
passioned his calamities, and soothed his grief with words of consolation." 4 

Some authors relate that Ethelred, and Edmund " Ironside," secretly 
embarked at the same time as the Queen, and personally escorted her to 
the home of her youth. 5 The Saxon Chronicle, however, which calls 
Emma " the Lady," states that, after her departure to Normandy, the 
King left the fleet 6 at mid-winter, and went to the Isle of Wight, "and, 
was there during that tide ; and after that tide, he went over the sea to 
Richard, and was there with him until such times as Sweyn was dead." 
The same record places Emma's visit to Normandy, in 1013. Ethelred. 
was very splendidly entertained by his generous brother-in-law. 

On the death of Sweyn, the people recalled Ethelred, although the 
fleet, and also the Danes, had elected Canute as his father's successor. 
Ethelred, with his usual unreadiness to avail himself of fortune's favours, 
would not venture to England till his son Edmund Ironside, whom he 
sent over to ascertain the disposition of the people, had returned, when 
having been informed that, "if he would make haste" all things were 
favourable, he departed for England, with certain succours afforded by 
the brother of Queen Emma. The people testified great joy at his re- 
turn, and Ethelred, on his part, swore new allegiance to them, and pro- 
mised to reform his administration. The return of Emma to England 
could not have been productive of much comfort to her at this time, when 
the greater part of the country was, as in the reign of Alfred the Great, 
overrun by the Danes. In spite of promises, hopes, and aspirations for 
better things, nothing seems to have prospered. 

Famine, pestilence, and war, distinguished the unfortunate reign of 
Ethelred, and taxation burthened the people. The year of the King's 

1 Echard. 2 Jumieges. 

3 Rouen, the residence of the ducal family, "was anciently called Ruda or Ru- 
daburg ; whence the Earls of Normandy were called Ruda-jarlar, the Rouen Earls, 
not Earls of Normandy." During the period that Emma resided abroad, with her 
orother, Elfsy, Abbot of Peterborough, "who was there with her, went to the 
minster which is called Boneval, where St. Florentine's body lay. There found 
he a poor place, a poor abbot, and poor monks ; for they had been plundered. 
Then bought he there, of the abbot and of the monks, St. Florentine's body, all 
except the head, for five hundred pounds ; and then, when he came home again, 
then made he an offering of it to Christ and St. Peter." — Saxon Chronicle, Milton, 
Laing's Notes on Snorro. 

4 Roger of Wendover. > Harding. 6 Which lay in the Thames. 



EMMA. 408 

return was marked not only by a reuewal of the war, but by anotber 
unlooked-for event. tl On the eve of St. Michael's mass, came the great 
sea-flood wide throughout this land, and ran so far up as it never before 
had done, and washed away many towns, and a countless number of 
people." ' But adversity, thus poured forth in full measure on the 
sovereign head, failed in its effect, and Ethelred was still oppresshe, 
weak, and irresolute ; thus, though at the head of a powerful army, he 
was unable to maintain his royal rights j his son Edmund could not even 
prevail on him to head his troops in person. The weak King, even feigned 
illness, as an excuse for remaining in London, where he alone fancied 
himself to be secure. 

On his return, Ethelred had ordered the army, which lay at Green- 
wich, to be paid 21,000£, 2 and sent a general invitation to all who would 
enter his service. Many flocked around him, and among the rest "came 
King Olaf, with a great troop of Northmen, to his aid." Of this great 
leader, it is said that " he had in his ship 100 men armed in coats of 
ringmail, and in foreign helmets. The most of his men had white shields, 
on which the holy cross was gilt ; but some had painted it in blue or 
red. He had also had the cross painted in front on all the helmets, in a 
pale colour. He had a white banner on which was a serpent figured." 
The dress of Olaf must have been costly, for mention is made of a present 
he received from Princess Ingegerd, of a long cloak of fine linen, richly 
embroidered with gold and with silk points. 3 

One of the most interesting portions of national British history relating 
to this period, is contained in Snorro's Sea-Kings of Norway, and as it 
gives a picture of the intestine discord of London at that time, and also 
of the city itself, it may not be ill-timed to introduce it here. King 
Olaf and others having joined Ethelred, the Chronicle proceeds to state 
that " they steered first to Loudon, and sailed into the Thames with their 
fleet ; but the Danes had a castle within. On the other side of the river 
is a great trading-place, which is called Sudeviki.* There the Danes 
raised a great work, dug large ditches, and within had built a bulwark of 
stone, timber, and turf, where they had stationed a strong army. King 
Ethelred ordered a great assault; but the Danes defended themselves 
bravely, and King Ethelred could make nothing of it. Between the 
castle and Southwark there was a bridge so broad that two wagons could 
pass each other upon it." On the bridge were raised barricades, both 
towers and wooden parapets, in the direction of the river, which were 
nearly breast high, and under the bridge were piles driven into the bottom 
of the river. Now, when the attack was made, the troops stood on the 
bridge everywhere, and defended themselves. King Ethelred was very 
anxious to get possession of the bridge, and he called together all the 
chiefs to consult how they should get the bridge broken down. Then 
said Kiug Olaf, he would attempt to lay his fleet alongside of it, if the 

1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. a Ibid., Snorro. 

3 Silki-roemor appear to have been silk tassels or ties on the cloak of fine linen 
(pelli), which was embroidered with gold. — Laing's Notes on Snorro. 
* Or Southwark. 



404 EMMA. 

other ships would do the same. It was then determined in this council 
that they should lay their war forces under the bridge ; and each made 
himself ready with ships and men. 

" King Olaf ordered great platforms of floating wood to be tied to- 
gether with hazel bands, and for this he took down old houses ; and with 
these, as a roof, he covered over his ships so widely, that it reached over 
the ships' sides. Under this screen he set pillars so high and stout that 
there both was room for swinging their swords, and the roofs were strong 
enough to withstand the stones cast down upon them. Now when the 
fleet and men were ready, they rowed up along the river j but when they 
came near the bridge, there were cast down upon them so many stones 
and missile weapons, such as arrows and spears, that neither helmet nor 
shield could withstand it; and the ships themselves were so greatly 
damaged, that many retreated out of it. But King Olaf, and the North- 
men's fleet with him, rowed quite up under the bridge, laid their cables 
around the piles which supported it, and then rowed off with all the ships 
as far as they could down the stream. The piles were thus shaken in 
bottom, and were loosened under the bridge. Now as the armed troops 
stood thick of men upon the bridge, and there were likewise many heaps 
of stones and other weapons upon it, and the piles under it being loosened 
and broken, the bridge gave way, and a great part of the men upon it 
fell into the river, and all the others fled, some into the castle, some into 
Southwark. Thereafter Southwark was stormed and taken. Now when 
the people in the castle saw that the river Thames was mastered, and 
that they could not hinder the passage of ships up into the country, they 
became afraid, surrendered the tower, and took Ethelred to be their king. 
So says Otta Swarte : — 

' London Bridge is broken down, — 
Gold is won, and bright renown, 

Shields resounding, 

War-horns sounding, 
Hildur 1 shouting in the din ! 

Arrows singing, 

Mail-coats ringing — 
Odin makes our Olaf win ! ' 

" And he also composed these : 



King Ethelred has found a friend; 
Brave Olaf will his throne defend — 

In bloody fight 

Maintain his right, 

Win back his land 

With blood-red hand, 
And Edmund's son upon his throne replace- 
Edmund, the star of every royal race ! ' 

" Sigvat also relates as follows : — 

'At London Bridge stout Olaf gave 
Odin's law to-his war-men brave — 
' To win or die ! ' 
And their foemen fly ; 

1 The Scandinavian Bellona. 



E M M A . 405 

Some by the dyke-side refuge gain, 
Some in their tents on Southwark plain ! 

This sixth attack 

Brought victory back.' " 

Olaf passed that winter with Ethelred, to whom all the country far 
around was brought into subjection ; but the Thingmen 1 and the Danes 
held many castles, besides a great part of the country. Olaf was com- 
mander of the King's forces when they took Canterbury, where many 
were killed and the castle burnt : this is reckoned his eighth battle : he 
was also entrusted with the whole land defence of England, according to 
the Chronicle of Snorro, and sailed round the coast with his ships of war. 
After another battle against the Danes at Newport, in the Isle of Wight, 
Olaf scoured the country, "taking scott of the people, and plundering 
where it was refused. So says Ottar : — 

' The English race could not resist thee, 
With money thou madest them assist thee ; 
Unsparingly thou madest them pay 
A scott to thee in every way : 
Money, if money could be got — 
Goods, cattle, household gear, if not. 
Thy gathered spoil, borne to the strand, 
Was the best wealth of English land.' 

So that the friends of Ethelred were no more the friends of the English 
people than his enemies, and a woful season was his reign for them all." 

Olaf remained in England for three years. The country was in a most 
pitiable condition, and if men could hardly feel themselves safe upon even 
a throne, how much more unprotected was the position of the other sex. 
It is hard to say what kind of court was that of Queen Emma at this 
troubled period of her life. With her young children forced from place 
to place, she still braved her fate with fortitude, and generously strove to 
animate the drooping spirits of her too desponding husband. It must 
have been to her a bitter and painful season, to behold the fierce strife 
maintained between the party of a husband such as Ethelred, and the 
countrymen of her mother, to whom she felt a preference ; and had she 
been placed at the helm, probably the destiny of England had been very 
different to what it was. Ethelred 's cowardice and extortions ruined his 
cause, and involved both himself and his family in ruin. There was, 
however, one of the sons of Ethelred whose bravery redeemed his father's 
character, though not his fortunes ; and this was Edmund " Ironside," 
who comes into notice in a remarkable transaction about this period, 
A.D. 1015. 

In those times of civil strife and warfare, the gift of female beauty was 
too often dangerous to its possessor, and many a high-born damsel and 
lofty princess was glad to enshrine herself from public gaze, in the quiet 
and safe seclusion of a monastery, preferring rather to forsake the world, 

1 Thingmen were hired men-at-arms, employed at the Danish court as a body- 
guard for their sovereigns. They formed bodies of standing troops over levies 
of peasantry, and to their superiority the victories of Sweyn and Canute have 
been ascribed. — Laing's Notes on Snorro's Sea-Kings. 



406 EMMA. 

than to risk the dangers she would inevitably be exposed to on every side, 
whether Saxon or Danish. Such, though frequently the case, was not 
the reason of the beautiful Algitha having become the inmate of the Abbey 
of Malmesbury. She had been sent there as a prisoner, by orders of 
Ethelred. 

Algitha, a lady of noble parentage and great beauty, was the wife of 
Sigeferth, a nobleman of Danish extraction, who enjoyed extensive terri- 
tories in Northumberland. The avaricious Ethelred coveted these rich 
possessions, and for the purpose of seizing on the Earl's estates, resolved 
to accomplish his death. Accordingly, the King convened a council at 
Oxford, A. D. 1015, in which Sigeferth, and another noble Danish lord, 
were accused of a conspiracy by Edric Streone, the King's favourite 
counsellor, the assembly being composed of Danes as well as English; 
yet was the motive of the King in the matter very evident. The unfor- 
tunate nobles were betrayed into confidence, and put to death in the 
King's own chamber. Their servants were so exasperated, that they 
would have revenged their murder, had they not been overpowered, and 
compelled to retreat to the Church of St. Frideswide, where they took 
refuge in the steeple, and defended themselves, until that being set on 
fire, they perished in the flames. 1 

On this melancholy occasion Algitha had been her husband's com- 
panion to Oxford, and on his death was seized and forcibly conveyed to 
Malmesbury under the royal mandate. The beauty of the widow of 
Sigeferth was, however, so noted, and the nobleness of her disposition so 
well known, that Prince Edmund was induced, from curiosity to become 
acquainted with her, to feign business in the neighbourhood of Malmes- 
bury. In an interview with Algitha he fell deeply in love, and resolved 
to make her his wife. The match, as might have been expected, was 
strongly opposed by Ethelred, the lady being in his own power, and her 
rich possessions under his control ; but the paternal prohibition did not 
deter Edmund from carrying off and espousing the lady of his choice, an 
event of great importance to the after-history of England. On his mar- 
riage, Edmund required his father to cede the territories of Sigeferth, in 
Northumberland, which amounted to the living of an earl. On the 
King's refusal, Edmund, without his authority, went into Northumber- 
land, where the farmers and tenants of Sigeferth's estates willingly 
received him as their lord, influenced by his union with Algitha. This 
event embittered the close of Ethelred's career. The King survived his 
son's marriage scarcely twelve months, during which he not only beheld 
his eldest son and destined heir thus rebel against him, but his enemies 
triumphant. After frequently feigning illness as one excuse among 
many to evade his foes, domestic trouble and vexation at repeated losses 
caused the King to fall dangerously sick in earnest, and he died at the 
age of fifty, after a reign of thirty-seven years. His last remains were 
interred in St. Paul's, London, where they were seen by Speed before the 
destruction of the church, who says " his bones yet remain in the north 

1 Holinshed. 



EMMA. 407 

wall of the chancel, in a chest of grey marble, reared on four small 
pillars, and covered with a coped stone of the same." 

Ethelred had a numerous family: Edmund "Ironside" and Edwy, 
with their three sisters, all born by this King's first marriage, survived 
him ; and Alfred, Edward, and Goda, the children of Emma. 

Popular consent, and the late King's will, accorded the crown to Ed- 
mund Ironside, who was accordingly crowned with the usual honours at 
St. Paul's, the ceremony being performed by the Archbishop of York. 
Canute, notwithstanding, caused himself to be proclaimed at Southampton, 
and not long after besieged Edmund in London. 

Within the city at this critical moment were Edmund and his brother, 
the Queen-Dowager Emma, two bishops, and several distinguished thanes. 
An army of 27,000 men and a fleet of 340 sail had been collected in the 
mouth of the Thames. Canute found it easy to cut off the communica- 
tion by land, but to prevent ingress and egress by water was more diffi- 
cult. As the fortifications of the bridge impeded the navigation of the 
river, by dint of labour a channel was dug on the right bank. Through 
it was dragged a considerable number of ships, and the Northmen became 
masters of the Thames above as well as below the city. 1 While thus 
situated every means was tried to gain over the besieged. Canute de- 
manded that Edmund and his brother should be given up, that 15,000?. 
should be paid for the ransom of the Queen, 12,000?. for that of the 
bishops, and that 800 hostages should be given for the fidelity of the 
citizens. If these terms were accepted, he would take them under his 
protection ; if they were refused, the city should be abandoned to pillage 
and the flames. 2 But the brave Londoners held out, and the Danes were 
forced to retire. The royal brothers had escaped in a boat through the 
Danish fleet. Several encounters followed, and also a second siege of the 
city, which was relieved by Edmund, who entered London in triumph. 
The war was, after a truce, terminated by a friendly compact. The two 
kings had agreed to meet each other in single combat in the isle of Olney, 
near Gloucester, where after a few blows the rival monarchs shook hands 
and agreed to divide the kingdom, Canute receiving from Edmund the 
northern half of England. 3 

On the death of Ethelred Queen Emma had recalled King Olaf to 
England to assist her against Canute, but on a peace concluded between 
Edmund and the Danish monarch, Olaf soon withdrew, and was created 
King of Norway by the voice of the people. Queen Emma also, who 
was stepmother of "> Ironside," fled for the second time into Normandy, 
taking with her the young princes Alfred and Edward. 4 

The Danish chronicler says that the murder of Edmund took place 
about a month after his agreement with Canute, who thus became master 
of the remaining half of the island, and took care to render permanent a 
power he had obtained only by repeated efforts. 

Olaf, after the battle of London Bridge, spent two summers and a win- 
ter in France, and after the death of King Edmund in 1016 came to 

1 Chronicles of London Bridge. a Holinshed. 

3 Liugard. * Turner, Gaillard. 



408 EMMA. 

Rouen, where he met the sons of Ethelred, and entered into an engage- 
ment to assist them the following year in the recovery of their kingdom, 
for which he was to he rewarded with Northumberland if the enterprise 
was successful. This invasion was attempted, but was a failure, and the 
Princes were compelled to return to Rouen. There is no doubt that 
Emma not only sanctioned these efforts made by her sons to recover their 
rights, but also assisted them as far as was in her power. 
Sigvat the Scald writes thus : — 

"Now all the sons of Ethelred 
Were either fallen or had fled ; 
Some slain by Canute, — some, they say, 
To save their lives had run away." 

Canute rightly deemed an alliance with their mother herself would 
most effectually silence the future claims of Ethelred's heirs. His own 
wife was just dead, and he determined to offer himself to the widow of 
Ethelred. As Emma was of Danish descent he supposed she would 
naturally prefer a Dane to an Anglo-Saxon for a husband, and he desired 
to secure the alliance of the Duke in his own favour, who had up to this 
time befriended the sons of his sister, the Queen of England. The young 
Princes having heard of the death of Edmund, and Canute's cruelty to 
their two young cousins, the sons of that King had resolved to remain at 
the court of Normandy; but Richard had fitted out a fleet in support of 
their claims. However, Canute despatched his embassy to the Norman 
Duke. Messengers, with right royal gifts and earnest supplications, pro- 
ceeded to the Court of Richard, with instructions to demand Emma of 
her brother, and at the same time to offer one of Canute's own sisters, 
named Estrech, or Estritha, 1 to the Duke. 2 

It occasioned great wonder among many persons that Emma should 
agree to marry the mortal enemy of her first husband and of her young 
sons. Not long before, Canute himself had besiged London while Emma 
was within its walls, and now she accorded him her hand in marriage ; 
yet not only did the Duke, her brother, consent, but took for his own 
wife the Lady Estritha. Some writers estimate Emma's conduct in this 
instance as very politic, for not only did she insure the succession to her 
own children, but effectually silenced the Danes. Had Emma been indif- 
ferent to the future welfare of her sons Alfred and Edward, she would 
have brought them over with her to England; but her anxiety for their 
safety caused her to prevent their leaving the Norman court; for she 
dreaded the jealousy of Canute, which had been excited by the vain 
endeavours of Duke Richard to place those princes on the throne of their 
ancestors; added to this, Edwy, brother of Edmund, had fallen a victim, 
and the young sons of Ironside had been sent to a foreign land. 

By the agreement made with Canute, Emma did not take away her 
son's right, but removed it to a greater distance by interposing her own 
issue by Canute ; so that after the death of the usurper Harold Harefoot, 
Hardicanute succeeded as rightful heir by virtue of Emma's agreement, 
and being established on the throne, ordained his brother Edward his suc- 

1 Sometimes written Ostrich. 2 Lingard. 



EMMA. 409 

cessor. By Emma's policy the Danes were thus wholly excluded, and 
the English line restored, through a match beneficial both to herself and 
her family. In making this alliance she would appear to have acted as 
guardian of the young princes, and to have considered expediency with a 
view to the ultimate result. Such is the view taken in the work entitled 
" Encomium Emma;/' which was written by a monk contemporary with 
Emma, and as the title imports, in commendation of the Norman Princess. 

The two marriages of Emma to Canute, and of Canute's sister, Estreth, 
to Duke Richard, were solemnized at the same time (in the month of 
July, 1018), ' with vast magnificence. The two years of Emma's widow- 
hood must have about expired when she became a second time a bride; 
for Edmund's reign had lasted eighteen months, and a few months had 
elapsed after the accession of Canute before the ceremony took place. 
According to Jumieges, Emma was married to Canute " Christiano more," 
in the Christian form, so that, prior to that marriage, he appears to have 
been a Pagan following the Danish rites. That this was really the case 
appears from Ordericus Vitalis, one of the most accurate and valuable of 
the Norman historians. We know that Emma was a Christian herself, 
and from Ordericus learn that " Canute was made a Christian, and married 
Emma to preserve peace." The ceremony seems to have taken place at 
London a few days after her arrival, and on the occasion the Danish King, 
fearing she would be carried away by the Saxon soldiery, presented to the 
whole army " her weight in gold and silver." 2 By this marriage Canute 
gaiued the alliance of Duke Richard, though for a short time only, for 
he did not long survive his union with Estritha, and at the death of this 
prince his duchy devolved on his eldest son, who died in another year, 
childless, and after him to Robert, his brother, a man of valour and 
abilities. 

The English were pleased to find at court a sovereign to whom they 
were accustomed; they greatly loved Emma, and as the widow of Ethel- 
red she had naturally a claim upon them. Harding writes : — 

"Kyng Knowt reigned in Englad the anon, 
And wedded had Queen Eme of England, 
Ethelrede wife, which gate him loue anon 
In Englaude of all the estates of the londe, 
Of comons also that were both fre and bonde." 

" Acting as mediatrix between Canute and the English nation, Emma 
counselled her husband to send back his fleet 3 and his stipendiary soldiers 

1 Turner, Gaillard, Higden, Fabian, Roger of Wendover. " Jamieges. 

3 In dismissing the Danish army and navy by request of his Queen, the King 
reserved for his own use forty vessels only, the crew or Thingmanen of which 
were intended for his body-guard. Edgar the Peaceable is thought to have kept his 
foes at a distance by the display of a fleet of 3,600 vessels, which each summer 
he employed to sail round the provinces he ruled. Before Canute's time the 
Danes had open barques with twelve oars ; they afterwards enlarged these so 
that they contained more than 100 men. Canute's ships were covered over with 
gold and silver. They had one mast, on the top of which was a gilt vane, exhi- 
biting some bird, to show which way the wind blew. Sometimes a man, a fish, 
a dragon, or a lion ornamented the stern of the vessel. — William of Malmesbury. 

35 



410 E M M A . 

to their own country. 1 Accordingly after distributing among them 
82,000 pounds of silver, he dismissed them to their native land." 2 This 
was an important concession, and betokened how great was the influence 
the Queen had already obtained over the heart of Canute. 

The King of Norway and Denmark from the earliest period kept a 
" herd " or " court." " The herdmen were paid men-at-arms^' who 
mounted guard at stated hours, posted sentries round the King's quarters, 
and had patrols on horseback, night and day, at some distance, to bring 
notice of any hostile advance. They were of two classes, udal-born to 
land, and called thingmen, from their being privileged to sit in Things at 
heme, and those of a commoner class, not udal-born to land, and there- 
fore unqualified, such as ordinary seamen, soldiers, and followers, but yet 
not of the class called slaves in England. The victories of Canute and 
his father are chiefly ascribed " to the superiority of the hired bands of 
thingmen in their pay. The massacre of the Danes in 1002, by Ethel- 
red, appears to have been of the regular bands of thingmen, who were 
quartered in the towns, and who were attacked while unarmed and attend- 
ing a church festival. The herdmen appear not only to have been dis- 
ciplined and paid troops, but to have been clothed uniformly. Red was 
always the national colour of the Northmen, and continues still in Den- 
mark and Eugland the distinctive colour of their military dress. It was 
so of the herdmen and people of distinction in Norway, as appears from 
several parts of the Sagas, in the eleventh century." 3 

The dresses of the Danish kings were grand and magnificent, though 
not much unlike those of the Saxons, embroidered and worked with broad 
gold trimming. They had either a cloak or a robe, also resembling the 
Saxons, sometimes buckled over the right shoulder, and hanging on the 
left, and sometimes buckling on the middle of the breast ; the cloak hung 
over the left shoulder of the King, without being buckled on the right at 
all, by way of distinction. They wore shoes, and also a kind of buskin, 
the toe of which was turned somewhat downward. 

As early as the time of Edgar, the Danes who had settled in England 
were great beaux, constantly combing their hair, of which they were very 
fond. 4 

Canute himself is described as " large in stature and very powerful, 
fair, and distinguished for his beauty; his nose was thin, prominent and 
aquiline ; his hair was profuse, his eyes bright and fierce." 5 His many 

' The presence of the Danish army was a constant source of uneasiness and 
animosity to the English ; but gratitude as well as policy forbade Canute to dis- 
miss it without a liberal donation. — Lingard. 

2 Roger of AVendover, Turner. 

3 Laing ; Preliminary Dissertation to Snorro, Chron. of the Kings of Norway. 

4 "The Danish mercenaries in England combed their hair once a day, bathed 
once a week, and changed their clothes frequently. A young warrior, going to 
be beheaded, begged of his executioner that his hair might not be touched by a 
slave, or stained with his blood ; and Harold, surnamed Harfager, or 'Fair Locks,' 
made a vow to his mistress to neglect his fine hair until he had completed the 
conquest of Norway to gain her love." — Lingard. 

" Sag*. 



EMMA. 411 

great and good qualities obtained for him various surnames, such as the 
Brave, the Great, the Rich, and the Pious. 1 

The Danish manners and customs had been common in England long 
before, so that a Danish court would not occasion much astonishment 
among the Anglo-Saxons. Among the Danes themselves some court 
ceremonies, unknown before, had been introduced by Olaf Kyrre, or " the 
Quiet." " For each guest at the royal table he appointed a torchbearer, 
to hold a candle. The butler stood in front of the King's table to fill the 
cups, which, we are told, before his time were of deer's horn. The court- 
marshal had a table opposite to the King's, for entertaining guests of in- 
ferior dignity. The drinking was either by measure or without measure ; 
that is, in each horn or cup there was a perpendicular row of studs at 
equal distances, and each guest, when the cup or horn was passed to him, 
drank down to the stud or mark below. At night, and on particular 
occasions, the drinking was without measure, each taking what he pleased ; 
and to be drunk at night appears to have been common even for the 
kings. Such cups, with studs, are still preserved in museums, and in 
families on the Borders. 2 

" The kings appear to have wanted no external ceremonial belonging 
to their dignity : they were addressed in forms, still preserved in the 
northern languages, of peculiar respect ; their personal attendants were 
of the highest people, and were considered as holding places of great 
honour. Earl Magnus, the saint, was in his youth, one of those who 
carried in the dishes to the royal table ; and torch-bearers, herdmen, 
and all who belonged to the court, were in great consideration ; and it 
appears to have been held of importance and of great advantage to be 
enrolled among the king's herdmen." 3 

There were many sorts of amusements in the Dano-English court : 
chess and dice are named among the rest. Bishop Ethern coming to Ca- 
nute the Great about midnight, upon urgent business, found the king and 
his courtiers engaged at play, some at dice and others at chess. 4 Back- 

' Turner. 

a Until a few years since, the manor of Pusey, in Berkshire, has belonged to a 
family of the same name, their ancestor having received it from that king by the 
medium of a korn, which bears the following inscription : — 

"Kynge Knowd geve Wyilyam Pewse 
Hys Horn to holde by the Londe." 

This curious relic of antiquity is of a dark-brown tortoise-shell colour, mounted at 
each end with rings of silver, and a third round the middle, on which the inscrip- 
tion is written in characters of much later date than those of the time of Canute. 
The horn is of an ox or buffalo ; two feet are fixed to the middle ring, and the 
stopper is shapped like a dog's head. The length of the horn is two feet and 
half on inch ; its greatest circumference one foot. The person to whom the horn 
was originally given is said, by tradition, to have been an officer in Canute's 
army, who had informed his sovereign of an ambuscade formed by the Saxons to 
intercept him, and received the manor in reward for his intelligence. — Britton 
and Brayley. 

This interesting heirloom was produced at the recent anniversary of Alfred's 
birth. 

3 Introductory Dissertation on Snorro, Laing. * Turner. 



412 EMMA. 

gammon is reported to have been invented about this period in Wales, 
and derives its name from hack (little) and cammon (battle). 

Canute patronised men of literary merit, being liberal to the clergy 
and the Scalds : of the latter class the names and verses of many have 
been preserved, who are quoted by Snorro. An amusing anecdote is on 
record of Thorarin, who had made a short poem on Canute, and went to 
recite it in his presence. On approaching the throne, he received a salute, 
and respectfully inquired if he might repeat what he had composed. The 
king was at table at the close of a repast ; but a crowd of petitioners 
were occupying their sovereign's ear by a statement of their grievances. 
The impatient poet may have thought them unusually loquacious ; he bore 
the tedious querulousness of injury with less patience than the King, and 
at last, presuming on his general favour with the great, exclaimed, ' Let 
me request again, Sire, that you would listen to my song; it will not 
consume much of your time, for it is very short.' The king, angry at the 
petulant urgency of the salutation, answered with a stern look, 'Are you 
not ashamed to do what none but yourself has dared, to write a short 
poem upon me ! Unless by to-morrow's dinner you produce above thirty 
strophes, on the same subject, your head shall pay the penalty.' The 
poet retired, not with alarm, for his genius disdained that, but with some 
mortification at the public rebuke. He invoked the Scandinavian muses, 
his mind became fluent, verses crowded on it; and before the allotted 
time, he stood before the king with the exacted poem, and received fifty 
marks of pure silver as his reward." ' 

The beautiful manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxons have already been 
alluded to. Fosbrooke assigns two motives for the extraordinary pains 
taken in their illustrations : "one that perusal might be thus invited, the 
other that they might be presents of value. Ervenius, an Anglo-Saxon, 
was very skilful in writing and illumination. He committed two books, 
the Sacramental and the Psalter, in which he had decorated the principal 
letters with gold, to the care of Wulstan when a boy. Admiration of 
the workmanship invited "Wulstan to a studious perusal. But Ervenius 
consulting the advantage of the age, as affirmed, with the hope of greater 
reward, presented the Sacramental to Canute, and the Psalter to Emma, 
his Queen." 2 

One of the royal residences 3 of Canute and Emma, was a house or 
palace in Westminster, which was burnt down in the reign of the Con- 
fessor, 4 but their principal abode was the palace, which at that time ad- 
joined St. Paul's, and Canute endowed the office of its Dean with the 
plot of ground contiguous to the Cathedral, now called the Deanery, and 
also a valuable estate at Chadwell. The chronicler Knyghton relates that 
it was in the gardens of this city-palace, declining, with a gentle slope, 

1 Turner's Anglo-Saxon. 2 British Monachism. 

3 Raby Castle, the Beat of the Earl of Darlington, about a mile to the north of 
Stamdrop, is supposed to occupy the site of a former mansion of Canute, given 
by him to the Church of Stamdrop. It stands on an eminence, founded on a 
rock, and is surrounded with a parapet and embrasured wall, together with a deep 
fosse. — Hutchinson. 

4 Fenn's Letters. 



EMMA .. 413 

towards the banks of the river, that the well-known incident occurred of 
the king's reproof to his impious and scarcely half-Christianized courtiers. 
But Milner considers this to be a mistake, and says that Rudborne, who 
quotes more ancient authors, places this scene near the ancient South- 
ampton, now the port of Northara. 1 The identical spot where the trans- 
action took place, is still pointed out at Bittern, in Northam harbour, by 
the tradition of the inhabitants ; the legend though well-known, is here 
given. " King Canute having walked one day to the sea-shore, attended 
by a train of courtiers, some sycophants began to address him in the 
courtly language of adulation, exalted his dominion, and pronounced him 
the most powerful and most happy of human beings; nay, they even had 
the boldness to add : — ' Sire ! nothing can resist you, nothing is impos- 
sible to your greatness.' 

"Canute, disgusted with this fulsome flattery, ordered a chair to be 
brought, which he placed on the beach at low water. He then seated 
himself and exclaimed, — ' Sea, thou art mine ! and these sands acknow- 
ledge my sovereignty. I charge thee, therefore, rise no farther, nor 
presume to wet the feet of thy master.' The waves, however, obeying 
no laws but those of the Almighty, pursued their course, and dashed 
against the King, upon which he rose from his chair, exclaiming, ' Let 
all the inhabitants of the earth know, that the power of man is vain and 
contemptible, and that He only is a monarch at whose nod the heavens, 
the earth, and the sea, are ever obedient.' " 2 

This reproof sufficiently disconcerted the parasites, but Canute embraced 
another and more solemn occasion to acknowledge his sincere submission 
to the Almighty God, his Lord and Sovereign : he deposited the golden 
crown which he had been accustomed to wear, in the church at Win- 
chester, and never afterwards placed it on his own head. 

There yet exist coins of this King, 3 which were struck at Dublin, 

1 Milner's Hist, of Winchester. 2 Great and Good Deeds of the Danes. 

3 While this work is going through the press the newspapers of the clay describe 
the finding by workmen of no less than one hundred and twenty coins of Canute 
and some of his predecessors, in a perfect state of preservation, at Wedmore, in 
Somersetshire. The labourers who found the earthen vessel in which they were 
contained, were digging for gravel in the churchyard. 

" No king," says Gough, in his Catalogue, " ever coined in so many places as 
Canute." He mentions no less than thirty-seven. 

A Danish medalist has observed that no coins of Canute are to be met with of 
any other than English mints; notwithstanding he reigned two years longer in his 
own country than over England, which he governed nineteen years. This observa- 
tion seems to be confirmed by the discovery of some of this Prince's coins of English 
mintage, with others of our King Ethelred, in a barrow in Ireland, mentioned by 
Olaus Wormius. England might be his favourite residence, as he had made it so 
considerable an accession to his paternal territory by compact and succession ; 
and lie affected to court the good-will of his new subjects, by taking the title of 
" Rex Anglorum," and sinking his other title. 

Keder has noted four varieties of this Prince's coins. 

The first exhibits his bust in armour, with a helmet or diadem ; in his left hand 
the sceptre surmounted by a lily. The cross is a quatrefoil, with pellets at the 
corners, or with another kind of cross laid upon it. 

2. The bust has the diadem or sceptre, which on some is surmounted by four 
pellets in form of a cross. The cross issues from a circle in the centre. 
35* 



414 niMA. 

• bj the Danish settlors in that 
S i o 

MS. regis D during that monarch's reign. This 

I ..incut is now in the possession of T; 

■ ore copied by Mr. Smut 

- tXOD Av.::,..: 

orated for his justice and equity, and dor.'. 

... may bo really attributed to 
. not of Boom. 

mitten from B Sts tho beneficial influence 

the heart of :' I He wrote in these terms 

. at men of his kingdom : — M Be it known to von that I 
i hi Almighty God, to oonduot myself ben 
- - ;. ku gdon as I religions and just mon- 

among my snbjeets. I have pn 
( errors 1 may have Veen led iuto by the impel 

- o and command my eoim- 
bom the affairs of the k 
in theiusc'.-. K suffer others to be guilty of any nets of 
rough fear of me. 

vs shall be ( - .united among my nobles 

aud :. ra l.-ot bus either values my friendship or 

- 

e said to have, for several years, regularly attended 
• al of the Purification. Emma was a great bene;". 
to the Saxon church, and the extraordinary liberality displayed by Canute 
- - - scribed 

test Emm* exerted in their favour: in especial Hams. 
I many splendid gifts from Cano 
the chroniclers, visited ( 
land and Ely in person, and piously offered their regal donations. On 
- other aud more valuable preseuts. the King bes 
.uiful white boars' skins, for the altars on . -." and 

BStment of silk embroidered wi:'.. | These rich 

gifts were as r - r though the skin of the brown bear was 

common in England, the whit. - - and uncommon. 

Queen Emma's - Is worthy of remark, as 

showing how excellent the art of needlework was in her time, and how 
'. in embroidery. " and with her own hands wrought a beautiful 

o. The bust in a quatre: - :..e cross terminating 

- B the points. 
4. The bust wearing a high pointed cap or helmet : the seeptre surmounted 
with three pellets. The cross in a circle, in the angles four rings e:.. 
a less. 

A r.tth sort has an arm to the I 

bast helmeted in a qnatrefoil. — I t'o.e Coins of 

Canute, by Richard Gough.] 

28. Stmtfs Sana A-.vo. . 
.: a^i (food Deeds of the I 



E M M A . 415 

altar-cloth," which she presented to the priests. This costly piece of 
ornamental industry is thus described : — " it was of a green colour, and 
beautified with plates of gold, that appeared raised : if viewed lengthways 
along the altar, it seemed of a blood-red colour, and it was finished at the 
corners with rich gold ornaments, which reached to the ground." 1 These 
gold ornaments were of a kind of gold thread and bullion-work termed 
'• orfrays." 

Canute liberally endowed St. Swithin's Abbey, Winchester : besides 
other rich jewels, the King bestowed on it a cross worth as much as the 
revenue of England amounted to in one year. 2 Roger, of Wendover, 
relates that " Canute decorated the Old Minster, Winchester, with such 
magnificence that the minds of strangers were confounded at the sight of 
the gold and silver and the splendour of the jewels. This too, was done 
at the instigation of Queen Emma, whose profuse liberality consumed 
whole treasuries on such objects." Upon the destruction of monasteries 
many of the costly presents of Canute and Emma to the church must 
have been rifled and cast into the melting-pot, for the mere value of the 
metals of which they were composed. 

A pall is named, as presented by the King and Queen, probably of her 
work, to Glastonbury " of various colours woven with the figures of pea- 
cocks." This was on the occasion of the visit to the tomb of Edmund 
Ironside, whom Canute was accustomed to style "his brother." A rich 
cloth, embroidered with "apples of gold and pearls," was given at the 
same time the charter was granted to the Abbey of St. Edmuns- 
bury, in signing which Emma writes "Ego Alfgifa Regina," and the 
King names her as " Myne Queen Elfgifa," who, he says, gave the church 
a revenue of " four thousand Eels, in Lakinghithe." 3 

It was on the occasion of Canute's visit to Ely, accompanied by Queen 
Emma and the nobles of the court, when they were gliding along the 
river in their barge, that the King himself composed that little Saxon 
ballad of which, unfortunately, one single stanza alone has been preserved. 
As the royal party approached the church the monks were at their devo- 
tions, and the sweetness of their melody was so attractive to the King, 
that he ordered his rowers to pause near the spot whence the sounds pro- 
ceeded, and to move gently while he listened to the harmony of the voices 
which came floating from the summit of the high rock before him. So 
great was his delight that it broke forth in the following poem. 

"Merie sungen the muneches binnen Ely, 
Tlia Cnut ching reuther by: 

Roweth cnites noer the land, 
And here we thes muneches sceng. 



1 Resembling a short silk (such as is frequently seen in early miniatures) ; 
Gale, vol. ii., p. 505. 

3 Howel. 

3 Fisheries were one of the sources of rent noticed in the Domesday Survey, 
where the produce in kind is mentioned, it seems chiefly to have consisted in 
eels, herrings, and salmons ; sometimes they were paid by stitches or sticks, 
each stick having twenty-five. This was commonly the case in payment from 
mills. — Sir II. Ellis. 



416 EMMA. 

"Merry sang the monks in Ely 
When King Canute sailed by : 

Piow, Knights, near the land, 
And let us hear the monks' song." 

Probably Canute sang tbese lines to some musical instrument, like the 
minstrels. 1 It is much to be regretted that the rest is lost. It has been 
thought that this poem is not so early as the time of Canute, and Lap- 
penberg's learned editor, Dr. Thorpe, considers it no older than the thir- 
teenth century. However this may be, as regards the language of the 
songs as handed down to us, there is no reason to doubt that the King 
might actually have composed such a poem, if indeed it did not proceed 
from the cultivated mind of Queen Emma herself, which is by no means 
impossible. When the barbarous deeds of the personages of those times are 
considered, it is a fact which creates extreme surprise that the ideas 
expressed in ballads and poems by the minstrels of that very period 
should be so full of delicacy and refined feeling. In the sagas there is 
an occasional gentleness and tenderness, where love and beauty are the 
themes, which contrast singularly with the records of burning, slaying, 
and outrages of all kinds perpetrated by the heroes. The charms of 
nature and the beauties of scenery appear to be fully appreciated by the 
" barbarians," who, if they acted like savages in some respects, seem to 
have the less excuse, as their songs prove, that though they " pursued 
the wrong," they knew " the right." 

The skill, so insisted on in all accounts of presents made to the church, 
both in the arts of needlework and in the chasing and carving of 
metals, cannot be denied them ; and that they understood the degrees of 
perfection to which such arts might attain, is shown by their earliest tra- 
ditions. For instance, the sacred histories of the Scandinavians relate 
the marvels wrought by Vaulund the Forger, the Vulcan of the North. 
The Icelandic Saga thus describes his skill : " Vaulund was so renowned 
throughout the north that by one consent all the smiths acknowledged 
him their superior. To denote the excellent property of any forged 
weapon it was usual to say the artist must have been a Vaulund. A 
rivalry having ensued between him and King Nigundur's former smith, 
it was agreed that Vaulund should forge a sword, and his rival a helm, 
which the latter was to put on, and if it were found proof against the 
sword, Vaulund's head should be forfeited. Accordingly the King's 
former smith put on the helm, and sitting on a bench, bid Vaulund, in 
defiance, use all his strength. The latter, who stood behind him, then 
raised his arm, and, at a single stroke clove the armour and armourer 
down to the girdle ; and inquiring what he felt, was answered by the 
smith that he had an internal sensation, as if from a stream of cold 

1 The ancient musical instruments were the viele, the flute, the pipe, the harp, 
and the rotce. This last, a species of harp, occurs in Chaucer and all our early 
poets. The viele was not the instrument now called by that name, but shaped 
like a fiddle, and played with a bow. The early music was written with square 
notes, ranged on four lines ; the fifth was not introduced till late in the reign of 
St. Louis. — M. Le Grand's Notes to Fabliaux. 



EMMA. 417 

water. l Shake thyself,' said Vaulund : the smith immediately did so, 
his body separated, and either half fell on opposite sides of the bench." ' 

Canute and Emma were great encouragers of church building; and to 
them may be attributed some of the most celebrated in England, as well 
as several in Normandy, which " time, war, flood, and fire" have spared 
to the present time, to prove the wondrous powers of architects and 
carvers in the early ages, never to be even approached in excellence by 
later and more enlightened artists. 

In 1020, the Cathedral of Chartres, still one of the most magnificent 
in France, which had been destroyed by lightning, was rebuilt by its 
bishop, Fulbert. The names of Canute and Richard II., Duke of Nor- 
mandy, are recorded as among those who assisted the work by their con- 
tributions. In the same year, the second of his marriage with Emma, 
Canute built the Monastery at Edmundsbury, " where the body of King 
Edmoud lies, and by the advice of Queen Emma and the bishops and 
barons, established monks in it under G-uy, a man, humble, modest, and 
pious'." 2 The Abbey of St. Bonnet's in the parish of Sudham, county 
of Norfolk, 3 was another foundation of Canute, between the years 1020 
and 1030, as well as a church at Ashdone, in Essex, at the dedication of 
which all the English and Danish lords assisted. 4 

Emma had only two children by Canute ; they were named Hardi- 
canute and Gunilda, the former was surnamed " the Hardy or Robust," 
from his personal accomplishments; 5 the latter was reckoned one of the 
loveliest of her sex, and in her father's lifetime was contracted to the 
Emperor of Germany, whom she afterwards married. 

Hardicanute, who by Emma's agreement, prior to her union with 
Canute, was destined to inherit the crown of England, was quite a child 
when the ceremony of translating the body of Bishop St. Elphege took 
place, of which the Saxon Chronicle gives the following account : — 

" This year, 1023, King Canute within London, in St. Paul's minster, 
gave full leave to Archbishop Ethelnoth and Bishop Brithwine, and to 
all the servants of God who were with them, that they might take up 
from the tomb the Archbishop St. Elphege j'afld they then did so, on the 
sixth before the ides of June. And the illustrious King, and the arch- 
bishop and suffragan bishops, and earls, and very many clergy, and also 
laity, carried in a ship, his holy body pvver the Thames to Southwark, and 
there delivered the holy martyr to^frhe archbishop and his companions ; 
and they then with a worshipful hand and sprightly joy, bore him to 
Rochester. Then, on the third day, came Emma the lady, with her royal 
child Hardicanute; and then they all, with much state and bliss, and 
songs of praise, bore the holy archbishop into Canterbury ; and then wor- 
shipfully brought him into Christ's Church, on the third before the ides 
of June. Again, after that, on the eighth day, the seventeenth before 
the kalends of July, Archbishop Ethelnoth, and Bishop Elfsy, and 
Bishop Brithwine, and all those who were with them, deposited St, 

1 Notes to Frithiof s Saga, translated by Oscar Baker. 

a Roger of Wendover. 3 Seven miles from Norwich. ' 

• Holinshed. i Hume. 

2b 



418 E M M A . 

Elpbege's holy body on the north side of Christ's altar, to the glory of 
God, and the honour of the holy archbishop, and to the eternal health 
of all who there daily seek his holy body with a devout heart and with 
all humility. Grod Almighty have mercy upon all Christian men, 
through St. Elphege's holy merits." ' 

Canute resided chiefly in England, yet he occasionally visited Denmark, 
attended by an English fleet. The year after his marriage with Queen 
Emma he went there, and in all probability was accompanied by his royal 
consort, A. D. 1019. 2 

It appears that Earl Ulf Sprakalegsson had been left protector of Den- 
mark by Canute when he went to England, his son " Hardicanute" being 
in his hands. The summer after this arrangement had been made by 
the English King, the Earl gave it out that King Canute had at parting 
made known to him his will and desire, that the Danes should take his 
son Hardicanute as King over the Danish dominions. He said Canute 
had done this on it being represented to him that the nation suffered 
many disadvantages from the absence of its King. " Hitherto," said 
Earl Ulf, " we have been so fortunate as to live without disturbance, 
but now we hear that the King of Norway is going to attack us, to which 
is added the fear of the people, that the Swedish King will join him, and 
now King Canute is in England." The Earl then produced King 
Canute's letter and seal confirming all that he asserted. Many other 
chiefs supported this business, and in consequence of all these persua- 
sions the people resolved to take Hardicanute as King, which was done 
at the same time. 3 This circumstance, passed over in our English histories, 
throws light on the procedings of Queen Emma : the Danish historian 
proceeds to say, " that Queen Emma had been principal promoter of this 
determination, for she had got the letter to be written and provided with 
the seal, having cunningly got hold of the King's signet ; but from him 
it was all concealed." 

By this account it would seem, that Emma was intriguing to advance 
her son before his father's death, and had not shrunk from forgery to 
accomplish her end. The story, whether true or false, is thus con- 
tinued : — 

" When Hardicanute and Earl Ulf heard for certain that King Olaf 
was come from Norway with a large army, they went to Jutland, where 
the greatest strength of the Danish Kingdom lies, sent out message- 
tokens, and summoned to them a great force : but when they heard that 
the Swedish King was also come with his army, they thought they would 
not have strength enough to give battle to both, and therefore kept their 
army together in Jutland, and resolved to defend that country against 
the Kings. The whole of their ships they assembled together at Lynn- 
fiord, and waited there for King Canute." 4 

The Dano-English King, in the meantime, had sailed with a vast force 
from England, and arrived in safety at Denmark, where he went to 

1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. a Lingard. 

3 Snorro's Kings of Norway. 4 Snorro. 



EMMA. 419 

Lynnfiord, and there he found gathered besides, a large army of the men 
of the country. 

When the Danes "heard that King Canute had come from the west 
to Lynnfiord, they sent men to him, and to Queen Emma, and begged 
her to find out if the King were angry or not, and to let them know. 
Your son Hardicanute will pay the full mulct the King may demand, if 
he has done anything which is thought to be against the King." He 
replies, " that Hardicanute has not done this of his own judgment, and, 
therefore," says he " it has turned out as might be expected, that when 
he, a child, and without understanding, wanted to be called King, the 
country when any evil came and an enemy appeared must be conquered 
by foreign princes, if our might had not come to his aid. If he will 
have any reconciliation with me, let him come to me and lay down the 
mock title of King he has given himself." 

The Queen sent these very words to Hardicanute, and at the same time 
she begged him not to decline coming, for as she truly observed, he had 
no force to stand against his father. When this message came to Hardi- 
canute, he asked the advice of the Earl and other chief people who were 
with him ; but it was soon found that when the people heard King Ca- 
nute the Old was arrived, they all streamed to him, and seemed to have 
no confidence but in him alone. Then Earl Ulf and his fellows saw 
that they had but two roads to take, either to go to the King and leave 
all to his mercy, or to fly the country. All pressed Hardicanute to go 
to his father, which advice he followed. When they met he fell at his 
father's feet, and laid his seal, which accompanied the kingly title, on his 
knee. King Canute took Hardicanute by the hand and placed him in as 
high a seat as he used to sit in before. Earl Ulf ' sent his son Swend, 
who was a sister's son of King Canute, and the same age as Hardicanute, 
to the King. He prayed for grace and reconciliation for the Earl his 
father, and offered himself as hostage for the Earl. King Canute or- 
dered him to tell the Earl to assemble his men and ships and come to 
him, and then they would talk of reconciliation. The Earl did so." 2 

Canute's happiness was not unfrequently clouded. Besides the annoyance 
caused him by the rebellion in the name of Hardicanute, directed by Earl 
Ulf, he was obliged to make war on his wife's brother, Duke Richard, in con- 
sequence of his having repudiated Estritha his duchess, on a very trifling 
pretence. 3 To avenge the affront, Canute sailed at the head of a large 

' Wolf or Ulf was brother-in-law to Canute, and Earl Godwin was married to 
Gyda, sister of Ulf. He was afterwards assassinated by Canute's orders, after 
the battle of Helge, 1025-7. 

* Snorro's Kings of Norway. 

" Duke Richard, the second, or, as Holinshed calls him, third ot that name, 
brother of Queen Emma, married first Judith, sister of the Earl of Hretagne, by 
whom he had three sons, Richard, Robert, and William, and three daughters, of 
whom one died young; Alix, another, married Reignold, Earl of Burgoyne; a 
third, Eleanor, to the Earl of Flanders. After a ten years' union Judith died, and 
Duke Richard married Estrida, sister of Canute. He purchased a divorce from 
her, and then married a lady called Pavia, by whom he had two sons, William, 
Earl of Arques, and Mauger, Archbishop of Rouen. Duke Richard died in 1022, 
fifteen years before Canute, and was succeeded by Richard III., who reigned only 



E U M A . 

- ■ s 

- s 
- 
I 

3 

_ -A. on 
and that 1 . 
rd . i _ — 

KKRATKD FOR HIS FIFTY." 

He was - - : - been 

- 
At - 3 sons was in 

n whom, by 

crown should have devolved, was in Pen- 
•s-here he had been crowned t'. 
3 :laims in England. Hai 
s first _ _ how superior Euglani 

him by his father's will, hurried 
The Quee:: 

- .:'.: into Eng- 

Lost _ - i '■'■! the 

■ bet 5:u. Harold had red to £ are the 

r himself. The reason of this a - s north of the 

- - ~ho ruled over them, and were I 

ssex declared boldlj fin* Hardioanute. 

_ I place of refuge for all those 
whom the Danish sreiled from the more northern 

- - liabiredby^ - maintained their fr-. . 

■ - 
- 

- • - 

I . ■ ■ - . ' must 

^en grounded on so m Nor- 

min c. • ' -" i Ca- 

' " _ 2 i :i had 

prepar - 

i in a storm. Afterwards C 
rr ~_, :';e pilgrimag; -I his 

i I ever been in- 
— • 

- Ej.- - • tSi 

9 -r. Rtmnn tii-- 
3 Harold is said to have been 

:L with hair. Home -iyf. "fnra hosag - 

.siting, and I i t g m horseback, pursued the amuse- 

ment i _- ird. 

-H.-. when the people were g 

-iurch to go out with his 1 r - — ! Oaeaj. 



EMMA. 421 

and were attached to th'r their royal family.' Emma fa 

was a great favourite with tl. 
the rights of her children. 

Win the capital of Wessex, and lenee, and thither 

Emma repaired; the pa. i i not only her own privi/ 

hut the royal treasures which Canute had entrusted to her 

. Hardicanute. 2 But a powerful combination was speedily t 
ist the widow ho, at this moment, though the mother of 

three sons and of two daughters, seems to have been left to supj. 
sorrow alone. While Emma fixed herself at Winchester, a witenagemote 
was hastily assembled at Oxford, 3 which was to bring much more grief to 
her than she had y< 
Earl of Kent; and others wen 

claims of the rival princes, Harold and Hardicunate. TL 
:>: supported Hardicanute, in spite of his absence, 5 and w 
by Earl Godwin, who objected to Harold on account of the rumoured ille- 
gitimacy of his birth ; but this appears to have been considered no objec- 
tion in the eyes of his own countrymeD, the Danes. L ::'.:.■■ the trusty 
friend of CaDute," overruled I ranee, and tl n and 

other lords north of the Thames, favouring Harold's el 1 him 

ruler of the kingdom, "not only for himself, but for Hardicanute who wa3 
then in Denmark." 6 The treachery of Godwin mainly brought about 
non, he having on Harold's arrival secretly placed in his hands 
the will of the late King, which had been entrusted to his care, an 
nanted to establish him on the throne, provided only that he would 
se his daughter Editha. This understanding not being generally 
known, Godwin, in the council, craftily appeare it 

Hardicanute. Ambition was the ruling feature of Godwin's character, 
and while thus through his connivance the council was called, which gave 
a crown to the future husband of his daughter, it was arranged by the 
same meeting that Emma and Godwin should jointly rule over the 
dependant territory of Wessex, until the arrival of Hardicanute; 7 the 
Queen was to maintain her royal state in Winchester, having with her 
u the household of the King her son," and Godwin was to be general of 
hc-r forces. The royal treasures and furniture at Winchester were to 
belong to Emma and h*.: ly had Hare! Led at 

.1, an office performed with his own hands, 6 then he hastened in 

Rapin. . a of Durham ; Br.: 

' Oxford was often the seat of the English court ; and Canute had held one 
«uncil there. The same atj wii ■.be murder of Sigeferth, I 

of Algitha, who became the Queen of Edmund Ironside : on the prt 
the accession of Harold was settled there, and ;-. . which 

[ing was crowned, but the one in which fa . 
4 Grafton. Saxon Chronicle. . : Llanearran. 

\ Kanulf Higden : Saxon Chronicle; Grafton. 

dllard; R.apin. :;er. 

_ !noth, who had been seventeen years Arehbidiop, refused to crown 
z that Canute had enjoined him to set the crown upon none but the 
issue of Emma. Then laving the crown on the altar, he denounced an vm\ 

- 



422 EMMA. 

person to Winchester, whither indeed his emissaries had already preceded 
him, and seized on all the most precious articles at the royal palace, even 
" before Emma could take possession of them." In spite, however, of 
this violent treatment, Emma remained at Winchester, "as long as she 
was able to do so." Finding that Godwin engrossed all the power in 
Wessex in his own hands, and that her children were effectually shut out 
from the government, the Queen affected indifference from motives of 
policy, and devoted her whole time to the occupation of visiting the 
churches, as though her thoughts had been entirely bestowed on a future 
state and the salvation of her soul. In this, much also of sincerity was 
combined ; for Emma was naturally pious, and deeply mourned the loss 
of a beloved and affectionate husband. 

The affection of Emma for the sons of Ethelred did not appear as great 
as that she felt for the heir of Canute. Hardicanute came not, however, 
to her wishes, to assert his rights and reinstate her in her royal authority. 
Conceiving that the King and Godwin, deceived by her affected neutrality, 
had no fear of her interposing in affairs of state, Emma at length deter- 
mined to recall her two sons by Ethelred to England, expressing the 
natural desire of a mother to behold the Princes who had been some 
time separated from her; but, in reality, her aim in sending for them was 
to awaken the love and affection of the Saxons for the race of their 
ancient king?, should Hardicanute fail to arrive ; and Godwin's penetra- 
tion having discovered this, he artfully applauded her scheme, and even 
aided her in the execution of it, but only with the view of delivering the 
Princes to Harold. The King informed, through Godwin, of Emma's 
wish, consented that her sons should be sent for. Edward, indeed, had 
early in Harold's reign come over with a considerable fleet, but not find- 
ing any countenance from his mother, who desired Hardicanute to succeed 
to the throne, and was, therefore, averse to his claim at that time, and 
probably unable to assist him without danger to both, had contented him- 
self with burning a few villages, and then went back to Normandy. 

Harold, aware that the Queen naturally aimed at placing her sons on 
the throne, had striven by many devices to get them into his power, and 
.on Emma's determination to invite them to England, wrote them the 
following letter in their mother's name : — 

" Emma, in name only Queen, to her sons Alfred and Edward, imparts 
motherly salutation. While we severally bewail the death of our lord the 
King, most dear sons, and while daily ye are deprived more and more of 
the kingdom your inheritance, I admire what counsel ye take, knowing 
that your intermitted delay is a daily strengthening to the reign of your 
usurper, who incessantly goes about from town to city, gaining the chief 
nobles to his party either by gifts, prayers, or threats. But they had 
much rather one of you should reign over them, than be held under the 
power of him who now overrules them. I entreat, therefore, that one of 
you come to me speedily and privately, to receive from me wholesome 
counsel, and to know how the business which I intend shall be accom- 
plished. By this messenger present, send back what you determine. 
Jarewell, as dear both as mine own heart." ' 

1 Encomium Emmae. . . 



EMMA. 423 

This letter, which, by what followed, might as well have been written 
by their mother, as it was what she wished, was delivered into the 
hands of the princes, together with presents really sent to them from 
Emma, and, as such, both were received with joy, and a glad message 
returned, appointing a time and place for the desired meeting. 1 That 
Godwin himself was the bearer of these tidings to Emma is not impossi- 
ble, as some say he was employed as ambassador. 2 Fifty vessels of chosen 
men of Normandy and Flanders had accompanied the Saxon princes, one 
or both, who landed at Sandwich, and from thence proceeded to Canter- 
bury. According to some authorities Emma, mistrusting Godwin, from 
seme intelligence received by her sons on their arrival, permitted one 
only at a time to visit him, retaining the other with herself. Alfred, 
whether after having seen the Queen or not is uncertain, was about to 
pay a visit to Harold, when he was arrested by Earl Godwin. The 
Saxon Chronicle says, Godwin prevented Alfred going to his mother, 
"knowing it would be displeasing to King Harold." As Guildford was 
on the road to Winchester, it may be that Alfred had not yet seen Emma, 
and that he had but rested in his way to the court of Wessex, to partake 
of the sumptuous entertainment provided by the Earl. On this occasion 
it is said by some, that, in a private intercourse, Godwin offered the 
Prince the throne, with the hand of his daughter, which he refused. 3 
The alternative was immediately had recourse to by the irritable noble, 
and the fate of Alfred was from that moment sealed. Guildford, the scene 
of the carousal of the Saxon and Norman lords on that eventful night, 
was a town belonging to Godwin. Alfred was under his protection, and 
he betrayed his trust. According to custom, the guests of the Earl drank 
deep, and, as the hour advanced, became overpowered with sleep. Then 
the work of death began, which the cowardly Harold had planned, and 
Godwin connived at as an ally. The attendants of Alfred were disarmed, 
and put to the sword ; every tenth man only being spared. As for " the 
ill-fated Prince, who was every way worthy to be a king," 4 the child of 
exile and misfortune, he found himself hurried away, first to the presence 
of Harold, in London, and afterwards to the Isle of Ely. The noble to 
whom the royal youth was consigned, aggravated his situation by every 
insult which could be offered. A sorry horse was provided, he was 
stripped of his royal attire, and his feet tied beneath the saddle, exposed 
to the mockery and derision of every ordinary beholder in the towns and 
villages through which he had to pass. Thus pitiable was the fate of the 
son of Emma, herself the Queen, and at the very moment ruling over 
some not inconsiderable portion of the land. A court was convened of 
persons suited to their office, at Ely, by whom Alfred was sentenced to 
lose his eyes ; and the unfortunate youth, on whom this cruel decree was 
executed by force alone, expired after a few days of lingering torment, 
either from his suffering, or the hand of a secret assassin. 5 

Harold and Godwin stand charged to this day, in the face of posterity, 

1 Milton, Roger of Wendover. a Milner, Grafton, Scott. 

■ Gaillard, Grafton, Milner. 4 Roger of Wendover. * Lingard 



424 E M M A . 

with this inhuman murder." Though the monk of St. Omer, who might 
be supposed well acquainted with the facts, represents the Earl as igno- 
rant of Alfred's danger ; 2 nevertheless, so convinced were his contempo- 
raries in general of his guilt, that he was twice arraigned for the murder : 
four years after, in Hardicanute's reign, by the Archbishop of York, and 
after that by Kobert, Archbishop of Canterbury, when Edward the Con- 
fessor was on the throne. On both those occasions he was acquitted ; 
but Edward himself never really believed him innocent, though Godwin 
died in the very moment of defending himself from the renewed charge. 
There is too much reason to think self-interest, blinded both Godwin and 
Harold to the enormity of the crime : one common in those times, where 
might was for ever struggling with right. The Queen herself has been 
charged with consenting and aiding in the crime, by sending the letter, 
which brought her sons to England ; but this, of course, was the inten- 
tion of the senders; and, that she was perfectly innocent is plain by the 
consternation she exhibited when the fatal tidings reached her, and her 
adopting the instant precaution of sending her remaining son, Edward, 
who is thought to have been with her at the time, to her Norman rela- 
tives ; a step attended with no trifling difficulty, and which gave great 
mortification to the King and Earl by disappointing them of one of their 
intended victims. It was, perhaps, this act which brought fresh wrath 
from Godwin on Emma ; for the Earl next accused her of treason, and 
Harold had formerly not only despoiled her of all the royal treasures, 3 
but now seized on her private goods and treasures, left for her own use 
by Canute, and banished her from the kingdom. 

Emma's friends, indeed, desired that she should quit England at this 
juncture, but where should she seek an asylum ? It might have been 
expected that she would have taken shelter among her own relatives in 
Normandy, whither she had sent her son, Prince Edward ; 4 but Duke 
William, being very young, was, while a minor, under the government 
of others, 5 and the Queen feared to awaken Harold's jealousy of her Nor- 
man connections. Emma preferred the asylum offered her by her cousin 
Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, who, finding the invitation he had sent to her 
was accepted, received her with all the respect due to misfortune, and 
treated her with the greatest courtesy and kindness. 6 He not only gave 
her the castle of Bruges for her residence, but assigned her a handsome 
provision for her support during her abode in Flanders. There the Queen 
remained for three years, attended by the few faithful adherents who had 

1 Turner. a Lingard. 

3 Encomium Emmee, Caradoc. * Harding. 5 Ibid. 

' a. d. 1037. The Saxon Chronicle says, "This year was Harold chosen King 
of all, and Hardicanute forsaken, because he staid too long in Denmark ; and 
then they drove out his mother Elfgiva, the Queen, without any kind of mercy, 
against the stormy xvinler ; and she came then to Bruges beyond sea: and Bald- 
win, tne Earl there, well received her, and there kept her the while she had 
need." The Earl of Flanders was married to a princess of the ducal family of 
Normandy [Eleanor, Emma's niece: see p. 304 (note) ] ; but one of his daugh- 
ters was wife of Tosti, son of Godwin, Emma's enemy, which makes his conduct 
only appear the more generous on this occasion towards Emma. 



E M M A . 425 

accompanied her in her exile. Emma informed the good Earl how hardly 
she had been treated by Harold, and how Alfred, her son, had been put 
to death, and Edward forced to fly from the kingdom. 

" Wherefore therle to Kyng Hardknowt then wrote 
All hir cornpleynt, and of his succour prayed 
And he should help with all his might, God wote, 
It were amended of that she was affray ed, 
He came anone in warre full well arrayed 
Into Flaundres, his mother for to please, 
Hir fur to socour and sette hir hert in ease." ' 

A. D. 1039. After repeated messages from the Earl and Emma, and 
the lapse of two years from his father's death, Hardicanute, who was 
more " the Unready" than the sons of Ethelred, sailed for Flanders, and 
spent a year there with his mother, consulting as to their future plans. 2 
Under the cover of this visit, the Danish King had assembled a fleet of 
sixty sail, and he was actually on the point of making a descent upon 
England, when the news of Harold Harefoot's death was forwarded to 
him, 3 on which he sailed for London, and was received with much 
triumph ; his claim being at once acknowledged by the whole nation, 
1040. He was shortly after crowned at London by Egclnoth, Archbishop 
of Canterbury, who had so resolutely refused to crown another than 
Canute's son. The favour which Hardicanute received is attributed to 
the regard entertained by the people, especially those of Wessex, for his 
mother, Queen Emma. 

Emma, to her great joy, recalled by her son, after a three years' exile, 
returned to England. Hardicanute received her with much honour, and 
placed the administration of the affairs of government in her hands and 
those of Godwin, — a singular coincidence by which the second time 
Emma found herself on close terms of alliance with her old enemy. 
Godwin had been one of the first to do homage to Hardicanute, but the 
King, doubtless, feared his professions of regard even more than the open 
enmity he had before experienced. Having first sent for his half-brother, 
Edward, from Normandy, the Prince, under sanction of Hardicanute, 
raised against the Earl a charge of having murdered Prince Alfred, and 
loudly demanded justice. Living, Bishop of Worcester, was likewise 
accused of participation in the crime. Elfric, Archbishop of York, was 
the person who was employed with Godwin, by the King, to disinter 
Harold Harefoot's body, for the gratification of his revenge for the murder. 
In this painful task the Earl and prelate disagreed, and Elfric accused 
Godwin. Godwin denied the charge against him, making out, on oath, 
that the part he had in the putting out the eyes of Alfred, he was con- 
strained to by order of Harold. He, in fact, legally acquitted himself 
"by his own oath, and the oaths of a jury of his peers, the principal 
noblemen of England." Whether innocent or not he was restored to 
favour, and' shared with Emma in the administration of the kingdom. In 
all likelihood Hardicanute but carried out the wishes of his mother in 
this endeavour to bring Godwin to justice ; if this was the case, and that 

1 Saxon Chron. " Lingard. 3 Hume, Roger of Wendover, &c. 

36* 



426 E M M A . 

a churchman was his accuser seems to render it likely, it may account for 
the vindictive feelings Godwin afterwards exhibited against Emma, upon 
the accession of Edward to the throne. 1 

The policy of Godwin had led him, in the hope of inducing the King 
to forgiveness, to offer him a very sumptuous present. His peace-offering, 
which was accepted, was a galley, finely rigged and manned. As for 
Living, he was deprived of his bishopric, which was given to his accuser, 
Elfric, but purchased his pardon by a round sum of money, when he was 
reinstated. 

Godwin's ship had a stern of gold, and eighty soldiers uniformly and 
richly suited : on their heads they all wore gilt burgonets, and on their 
bodies a triple gilt habergeon : swords with gilt hilts girded to their 
waists ; a battle-axe, according to the Danish fashion, on their left 
shoulder; a target with gilt bosses borne in their left hand, a dart in the 
right hand, and their arms bound about with two bracelets of gold. The 
gift of Godwin is quite in accord with the manners of the day, and seems 
an adroit imitation of the celebrated ship of the Viking Frithiof, the 
swift-sailing Ellida, thus beautifully described in the Saga of Bishop 
Tegner : 2 

"The bark Ellida next was Frithiof s own 

Viking, 'tis said, from war returning home, 

Sail'd by the strand, and on a wreck he spied 

A man, who seemed to revel with the tide, 

Of noble stature, and of face serene, 

Joyful and glad, though changeful was his mien : 

Like the sea basking in the solar sheen : 

A cloak of blue and belt of gold he wore, 

Bedecked with corals from a distant shore. 

White, as the foam on billows, was his beard, 

And, as the ocean, green his hair appeared. 

Then, thither, Viking steered his floating shell, 

And saved the Being from the billow's swell. 

But he, while smiling, to his saviour said : 
' My bark is staunch, the breezes will not fail ; 
This very night a hundred miles I sail. 
Long shall thy kindness in my mem'ry dwell, 
And soon some gift my gratitude shall tell. 

Yes, when to-morrow thou shalt wander o'er 

Thy lands, some gift shall wait thee on the shore.' 

Next day, when Viking wandered by the sea, 

Lo ! as an eagle rushes at its prey, 

A stately Dragon swept into the bay. 

The rudder moved, untouched by human hand, 

And none, save spirits, steered that bark to land. 

But mid the reefs and shoals it held its way, 

And scatheless flew amidst the driving spray. 

The gift was kingly ; for each oaken beam 
Was grown together without joint or seam. 

1 Lingard. a Translated by Oscar Baker. 



EMMA. 427 

High in the stem the Dragon's head arose, 

His gilded jaws a fiery gape disclose ; 

His breast was speckled o'er with blue and gold, 

Whilst, in the stern, his tail in many a fold, 

Bright as a mail of silver, upward flew, 

Shining resplendent towards the heavens of blue : 

When his jet pinions, edged with brilliant red, 

High in the air, to catch the breeze were spread : 

His speed outstripped the headlong raving wind, 

And left the eagle in his flight behind. 

When that brave bark was filled with steel-clad men, 

It seemed a fortress floating on the main." 

That Queen Emma was particularly attached to the city of Winchester. 1 
is evident from her returning to dwell there after the death of Harold ; 
even during her temporary absence also, she had continued to bestow her 
royal presents on the Cathedral. 2 The Queen's name is joined to that 
of her son Hardicanute, in his charters to her favourite monasteries, 3 and 
however authors may differ in their accounts of the character of that 
King himself, they unite in praising the kindness which he showed to his 
mother Queen Emma; in this he was at least much superior to his 
brother, the sainted and vaunted Edward. 4 

In another point, the character of Hardicanute also deserves admira- 
tion, that of fraternal affection. Edward, the son of Ethelred, was 
invited to his court, A. D. 1041, and not only came there without fear, but 
remained an honoured guest during this king's short reign. 5 Hardicanute 
also carried out the plan of his father, as regarded Gunilda, daughter of 
Emma, whom Canute contracted to the Emperor Henry. This lovely 
young Princess is designated as the King of England's " fairest sister," 
to distinguish her from her half-sister Goda, daughter of Ethelred, and 
sister of Prince Edward, who had been united first to Walter, Earl of 
Mantes, and afterwards to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, of whom we shall 
have to speak hereafter. Gunilda was bestowed with much solemnity 
and magnificence on the Emperor. After some time, the young Empress 
was accused of infidelity to her husband, but was cleared by a judicial 
combat : a dwarf in her service named Mimicon, who had attended her 
from England, fought with the champion appointed by her accusers, who 
was named Rodingar, a man of gigantic frame : the dwarf obtaining the 
victory, the fair fame of his mistress was considered established. Gunilda, 
though vindicated by this happy event, could never be persuaded to live 
agaia with her husband. Forsaking the world, she assumed the holy 
veil of a nun, in which she ended her days, 6 five years only after the 
death of her father, King Canute. The Chronicle exclaims that she died 
" as the noble morning star sinks at early dawn." 7 

' M ilner's History of Winchester. a Howel. 

J Roger of Wendover, Marianas, Higden. 

* Personally, Hardicanute was mild, and of a generous nature. His table was 
spread at four different hours in the day for his guests. Perhaps to the con- 
viviality of living acquired among the Danes, may be attributed his feeble health 
and constant attacks of illness. 

5 Roger of Wendover, Marianus, Higden. 

6 Ranulf, Higden. ' Norman Traditions, Malmesbury 



428 EMMA. 

Hardicanute's death was very sudden, in 1042, in the midst of the 
festivities of a wedding dinner, the nuptials celebrated being those of a 
noble Dane called Tovi and Gyda, the daughter of Osgod Clapa. Some 
say the King was poisoned; but it is more generally thought his death 
was the result of intemperance, for " he died as he stood at his drink." 
The scene of this event was the royal palace or mansion of the Saxon 
Kings, which formerly stood in that part of the parish of Lambeth, 1 now 
known by the name of Kennington, and which constituted part of the 
dower or estate of the Princess Goda, daughter of Ethelred and Emma. 

The death of Hardicanute was a great blow to Emma : and the Saxon 
Chronicle states that his mother, who tenderly loved him, "for his soul 
gave to the New Minster the head of St. Valentine the Martyr." The Eng- 
lish hailed the event as a signal of deliverance from the Danish yoke, and 
the festival called " Hog's Tide," or " Hock Wednesday," was for cen- 
turies after kept by them in commemoration of the circumstance. 

At the time of Hardicanute's death, Prince Edward was in Normandy, 
The Queen, Godwin, and Living, Bishop of AVorcester, in the emergency, 
united their interest in his favour, and on this occasion were upheld by 
Leofric, the powerful Earl of Chester: 2 by their combined exertions, 
Edward was recalled to assume the sovereignty, the English being per- 
suaded easily to take this step, having never forgotten the fact that they 
had formerly sworn allegiance to him " while yet in his mother's womb." 3 
Accordingly, Edward, after having given pledges that he would bring but 
few Normans with him, 4 came over to England, and ascended the throne, 
being consecrated on Easter Day, 1043, at Winchester, Queen Emma 
assisting at the ceremony. 

Edward was thus restored to his rights, after having been excluded 
from them during a long succession of disappointments; for, twenty-five 
years before, Emma had, by her marriage contract with Canute, excluded 
the children of Ethelred, and since then Edward had dwelt at the court 
of his maternal relatives, a dependant and an exile. 5 The Queen had on 

1 MS. History of Lambeth Palace. 

2 Higden. ' Brit. Sancta. 4 Higden. 

s Edward testified much gratitude, on coming to the throne, to the Normans, 
who had befriended his adverse fortunes. He owed nothing, as he thought, to 
Godwin, his mother, or the Saxons ; but surrounded his person with Norman fa- 
vourites, while Emma still preserved a Saxon court at Winchester. Edward 
plainly showed his dislike to the Anglo-Saxon manners, and patronised foreign 
tastes. The Saxon nobles perceiving this, gave up their own fashions and imi- 
tated those of the French, together with their character and mode of writing, 
" speaking French in their halls, as though it were a more gentle tongue." The 
Normans, under Ethelred, Canute, and Edward, were in such favour, and en- 
joyed so much power at court, that their clerks, or clergy, obtained the best 
benefices in the land. Robert, "a jolly, ambitious priest," first got to be Bishop 
of London, and, at a later period, Archbishop of Canterbury, leaving for his suc- 
cessor, in that of London, a countryman named William. Ulfo, another Norman, 
was preferred to Lincoln, and others to different places, as the King, the bene- 
factor of the church, pleased. These Norman clerks, on being promoted, mocked, 
abused, and despised the English ; and the Saxon nobles were still more irritated 
to find them increasing so fast in royal favour, as to be called to the secret coun- 
cil of the King. The advancement of Robert, in particular, elated the French 
and irritated the Saxon nobles. — Ingulphus, Gale, Holinshed. 



E M M A . 429 

many occasions shown that her conduct towards him was guided by con- 
venience rather than affection ; but Edward, esteemed one of the most 
holy among those whose names have been recorded in the saintly calen- 
dar, was certainly not gifted with the Christian virtue of forgiveness of 
injuries, at least, as regarded his mother. Of his feelings towards Ethel- 
red we know nothing, and, certainly, Edmund "Ironside," as an elder 
brother, had set a dangerous example ; yet Edward the Confessor was 
still less filial in his behaviour towards his mother, Queen Emma. It 
was plain he could not forgive the past, and that although Emma, God- 
win, and Living had united to place him on the throne when no other 
heir remained who had the power to dispute his claim, he remembered 
that in an earlier period when they might have upheld his right, it had 
beeu overlooked and permitted to sink into oblivion. He had no regard 
for any of them : from his mother he had been almost always separated, 
but to his murdered brother Alfred he was deeply attached, and, as he 
conceived both Emma and Godwin to have been implicated in his cruel 
death, an impression remained on his mind, never to be effaced. 1 It was 
not, however, at first that Edward testified the feelings which he har- 
boured in his breast against his only remaining parent ; for we find Emma's 
great spirit and enterprise had so far got the better of the king's natu- 
rally weak and indolent character, that she engrossed a large share of the 
administration. This awakened the jealousy of Godwin, her old enemy, 
though present ally, who was too ambitious to permit himself to be super- 
seded. The Earl had stipulated as one of the conditions for Edward's 
being placed on the throne, that he should espouse his daughter Editha, 
which he hoped would be a new source of influence. Edward, on many 
pretences, delayed the performance of this engagement ; and it is not 
impossible the Earl suspected Emma of intriguing against him in this 
matter, more especially as he knew the aversion Edward himself secretly 
entertained to a union with the daughter of one whom he suspected of 
his brother's murder. 2 Godwin determined to remove any such obstacle 
to his own ambition, and hoping to ruin Emma in the king's favour, ac- 
cused her of several crimes. In this he was seconded by a person 
scarcely less powerful or ambitious than himself, Robert, Bishop of Lon- 
don, 3 the king's spiritual adviser, a prelate of Norman birth, and formerly 
monk of Jumieges, but whose fortunes had been advanced with those of 
his royal master. This priest, who warmly seconded Godwin in his 
charges against Emma, made the following accusations jointly with the 
Earl :— 

1 Biog. Brit., Higden. 

- Whether Emma interfered in the matter of Edward's marriage is doubtful, for 
it took place in 1044, and in the year after that, the Queen-mother was present 
at the council when the first charter was granted for the monastery of St. Peter's, 
Westminster, 1045. Godwin and his sons, after the marriage of Editha, con- 
tinued to contest for power with the Normans "in the very palace of which his 
daughter and their sister was lady and mistress;" and the insults they offered, 
"in turning their exotic modes into derision;" and blaming the King for his 
weakness in placing his confidence in them, were remembered and resented after- 
wards, when the favourable opportunity presented itself. 

3 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 



430 E M M A . 

First, that the Queen had consented to the death of her son Alfred : 
secondly, that she endeavored to prevent Edward's succession to the 
crown : thirdly, that she kept up an impure intercourse with Alwyn, 
Bishop of Winchester/ her relative, who had been her protector on her 
leaving Normandy, at the period of her union with Ethelred, having at 
that time been retained in the royal household, and created Earl of South- 
ampton. On more than one occasion he had aided Ethelred against the 
Danes, and even opposed Canute the future sovereign. On the peace 
being made between Edmund Ironside and Canute, Alwyn ceased to 
oppose the Danes, and following his inclination for a life of retirement 
and devotion, assumed the monastic cowl of St. Benedict, in the monas- 
tery of St. Swithin, Winchester. In honour of his rank Bishop Ethel- 
wold himself invested him with his holy garb, and soon after, Alwyn was 
appointed to the monastic office of sacristan. From the time of Emma's 
second marriage he became the firm friend of Canute, a friendship recip- 
rocated by the monarch. As a monk, Alwyn could not receive presents 
for his own personal use; therefore, the only means of offering a compli- 
ment to him was, by a donation to the church of which he had the care. 
Many marks of favour were shown to Alwyn by Canute and Emma, who 
bestowed those rich gifts already described on Winchester Cathedral. In 
the nineteenth year of Alwyn's profession, A. D. 1032, the see of Win- 
chester becoming vacant, he was promoted to it by Canute, at the Queen's 
especial request, which fact marks the unity of sentiment existing between 
the royal pair : this was retained by Alwyn through the reigns of Harold, 
Hardicanute, and Edward the Confessor. 2 It was the frequent visits of 
Emma to Alwyn which afforded one pretext of accusation against her. 
Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, is said to have hated, with no com- 
mon hatred, the Bishop of Winchester, and united with Godwin in machi- 
nations against him and the Queen. Edward, unfortunately, was but too 
easily imposed upon, and too many unfavourable circumstances had already 
transpired to warp his mind against his mother. Instigated by these bad 
advisers, Edward called a council at Gloucester. After this he proceeded 
to Winchester, accompanied by Godwin, Leofric and Siward, three nobles, 
who are said to have possessed so much individual power, that the King's 
safety consisted principally in their disunion, for, if united, they might 
easily have dethroned him. On arriving at the royal city where Emma 
dwelt, they seized her treasures, and swept away the cattle and corn from 
the lands which she possessed as her dower, "a sort of military execution," 
as the historian calls it; 3 while the unhappy Queen herself was committed 
to prison. The King's visit was so unexpected, and this treatment so 
unlooked for, that Emma was unable to secure the smallest part of her 
most private property; so that all her jewels, gold, silver, and other valu- 
ables were taken with the rest. 4 There was an order given that she 
should be supplied with every necessary, yet only a mean pension was left 
for her subsistence, and not the least respect shown towards her. It is 
said that in this season she was reduced to the greatest necessity and ex- 

1 Polydore Vergil, &c. % Milner's History of Winchester. 

3 Lingard. 4 Roger of Wendover. 



E M M A . 431 

posed even to the risk of dying of famine.' After this the Queen was 
obliged to retire to the neighbouring Abbey of Wherwell, until the 
crimes alleged against her were properly investigated. Edward's own 
charge against Emma was that " she had accumulated money by every 
method, regardless of the poor, to whom she would give nothing ; there- 
fore it was taken away, that it might aid the poor and replenish the 
King's exchequer." Malmesbury adds to this that Edward took his 
mother's estates from her " because she had for a long time mocked at 
the needy state of her son : nor did she ever assist him : transferring her 
hatred from the father to the child ; for she loved Canute, both living 
and dead, better than her first husband. 1 " Here was an allusion to the 
differences which had, at one time, existed between Emma and Ethelred, 
and it is easy to perceive with what jealous feelings Canute's children 
had been ever regarded by their disinherited elder brother. 2 

That Edward considered one of the three charges, made by her ene- 
mies, which respected himself, to be correct, is obvious 3 by his own con- 
duct, and the excuses alleged for it : severe as it was in the case of a son 
to a parent, the sanction of his council made it appear not to be without 
cause. Accordingly, Emma was kept in close confinement in the Abbey 
of Wherwell, though some say both the Queen and Alwyn were placed 
in ward in Winchester. The Bishop was committed to the examination 
and correction of the clergy. Emma is said to have sorrowed more for 
the defamation of Alwyn, than her own state of degradation. 

Soon after Emma's disgrace, " Stigand was deposed from his Bishopric, 
and all that he possessed was seized into the King's hands, because he 
was nearest to his Mother's counsel, and she went just as he advised her, 
as people thought." 4 Stigand was a Prelate noted for covetousness ; he 
had been Canute's Chaplain, and, as such was patronized and regarded 
with esteem by Emma, who seems to have delighted to reverence those 
whom Canute had loved. It was the Normans who prevented Edward's 
coffers from overflowing, and they not only detested Canute and all he 
had favoured, but disliked his widow for her half-Danish descent, and 
were glad of Godwin's accusation against Emma respecting Alfred's 
murder, though the Earl's chief object was evidently to throw off the 
odium uf that crime from himself. 

1 Bethune. 

The reason why King Edward and the English so little respected " this great 
lady, whose many years had made her an actor of divers fortunes, was her never 
having affected King Ethelred nor the children she had by him, and for her mar- 
riage with Canute, the great enemy and subduer of the kingdom, whom she ever 
much more loved living, and commended dead."— Daniel's Coll. of the History of 
England, London, 1626. 

3 " Edward himself, in two of his charters, attributes the death of his brother 
to Harold and (which is more singular) to Hardicanute. Now, Hardicanute was 
in Denmark, and the accusation, if it mean anything, must allude to those who 
governed in the name of Hardicanute, and, in that hypothesis, may reach Emma 
or Godwin, or both, Yet, would Harold, who was then all powerful, have sub- 
scribed to these charters, if they had cast so foul a stain on the memory of his 
father V" — Lingard. 

4 Saxon Chronicle, anno 1043. 



432 EMMA. 

Far from being overcome by the sudden reverse in her fortune, and the 
serious accusations made by her enemies, Emma demanded justice, and 
wrote from her prison, at Wherwell, to different Archbishops and Pre- 
lates, asserting her innocence, and desiring to be put to the proof, profess- 
ing herself willing to encounter any trial, even that of the fiery ordeal. 1 
A Synod was accordingly convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury to 
examine into the charges against Queen Emma; on this occasion, the 
Bishops interceded in her behalf with the King, when Robert, the Arch- 
bishop, addressed them in the following terms, more forcible than delicate : 
" My brethren Bishops, how dare ye defend her, that is a vile beast and 
not a woman; who hath defamed her own son, the King; and called her 
leman, the Bishop, Christ her God. But, be it so, that the woman would 
purge the Priest, who shall then purge the woman, that is accused to 
consent to the death of her son, Alfred, and procured venom to the eni- 
poysoning of her son Edward ? 2 But, how so it be, that she be guilty or 
guiltless, if she will go barefooted for herself over four ploughshares, and 
for the Bishop over five ploughshares, burning and fire-hot, then, if she 
escape harmless, he shall be assoiled of this challenge, and she also." 
This savage proposal was accordingly agreed to, and the day straightway 
appointed for Emma's purgation. 

In those days, if a person was accused or suspected of crime, which 
could not be fully proved, he was put to his ordeal or trial, either by fire 
or water. The ordeal by fire was chiefly used for persons of rank. There 
were several kinds : the one which Emma underwent was, as follows : — 
Nine red-hot ploughshares were brought forth, and laid at unequal dis- 
tances, and then the accused person having bare feet and eyes close 
blinded had to walk over them. If this was performed without touching 
the shares, the accused was instantly declared innocent; if not, guilty. 

A woman might avoid being put to this proof, if she could find a cham- 
pion to combat in her favour. Gunilda appointed her dwarf when ac- 
cused. Few could fail to find a protector, when their honour was thus 
questioned ; but Emma's was a rare case, and she herself seems to have 
felt so confident in her innocence, as to challenge being put to the most 
extreme proof in her own person. 

Emma passed the night previous to her fiery trial in the Cathedral 
Church, where, at the tomb of St. Swithin, she remained in fervent 
prayer ; she implored the aid of the Saint, and falling asleep was com- 
forted by a dream, or vision, in which that Holy Prelate appeared to her, 
saying, " Be thou firm, daughter, I am Swithin, whom thou hast enriched ; 
fear not, when thou passest through the fire, it shall not hurt thee, for 
thy son hath done evil in this." Emma arose refreshed and comforted, 
and all the preparations being completed, was led into the Church, and 
thus addressed the King: — "0 Lord and Son, I, that Emma, who bore 
and brought thee forth, and Alfred my son, I invoke God to bear witness 
in my person this day, may I perish, if what has been charged against me, 

' Polydore Vergil, Fabian, Grafton, Stowe, Milner, Boyle. 
a This is a new charge, of having attempted the life of Edward himself, and 
Brompton also names it as such. 



EMMA. 433 

ever even entered my mind." The King, the Bishops, and an immense 
multitude of persons of all descriptions were assembled in the Cathedral 
to be spectators of the event. The pavement of the nave having been 
swept, nine ploughshares, red with heat, were placed in a line upon it; 
" and now Emma," say the Chroniclers, " having again invoked the Al- 
mighty to deal with her accordingly, as she is innocent, or guilty, of the 
crimes laid to her charge, prepares herself for the trial, by laying aside 
her robes, and baring her feet. She is then conducted by two Bishops, 
one having hold of each of her hands, to the glowing metal. In the 
meantime, the vaults of the Church thunder with the voices of the as- 
sembled multitude, who, in loud shouts, call upon the Almighty to save 
the royal sufferer, and their cries are echoed through the whole city, by 
the crowds who were unable to gain admittance into the Church. She, 
herself, raising up her eyes to Heaven, and slowly walking on, thus 
makes her prayer : — ' God, who didst save Susannah from the malice 
of the wicked elders, and the three children from the furnace of fire, 
save me for the sake of thy holy servant Swithin, from the fire prepared 
for mc.' In a word, she is seen to tread upon each of the burning irons, 
and is not even sensible that she had touched them, but addressing her- 
self to the Bishops, ' when shall I come to the ploughshares ? ' They 
turn round and show her that she has already passed them. The lamen- 
tations of the multitude then ceasing, the air resounds with acclamations 
of joy and thanksgiving, still louder than their former prayers had been. 
The King alone is found overwhelmed with grief and bathed in tears, 
lying upon the ground beside his chair, to whom Emma being conducted, 
he begs her forgiveness, in terms of the utmost humility and sorrow, for 
the injurious suspicions he had entertained concerning her, and the rigour 
with which he had treated her. Not content with this, he requires of 
her, and the Bishops then present, to strike him with a wand, which he 
presents to them. She accordingly gave her son three blows ; when 
having embraced him, both she and Bishop Alwyn were put into full 
possession of their former rights and property, and ever after enjoyed the 
royal favor and respect, in the degree they merited." ' 

1 Circumstantial as this strange narrative is, modern authors have endeavoured to 
refute the story altogether, stating that Emma's accuser, Robert, to blacken whose 
character it was invented, did not become Archbishop of Canterbury till 1050; 
others have pronounced it an invention of later times, resting on suspicious evidence, 
because the historians nearest the time do not name the circumstance. The "En- 
comium Emmce," written by a monk of Emma's own times, would have been in 
this matter a valuable authority ; but his record unluckily leaves off at the ac- 
cession of Hardicanute. The Saxon Chronicle, regarding Emma as a private in- 
dividual, neglects to name the fact, and the Latin historians are silent on a tale 
prejudicial to Edward. Brompton, Knyghton, Rudborne, and Harpsfield, relate 
the circumstance; and Robert of Gloucester, regarding it as a well-known fact, 
gives it. a place with much minuteness in his Chronicle. Ranulf Higden, also a 
most accurate historian, related it at length in his Polychronicon, in the middle 
of the fourteenth century. In 1338, nearly the same date, it was sung amongst 
other popular songs relating to the history of Winchester, in the Prior's Hall 
there, at the translation of Orleton to that see. Everything considered, the annals 
of the church where the event occurred were most likely to contain the record, 
as in this instance was the case ; and though Malmesbury does not mention the 

37 2 c 



434 EMMA. 

The ploughshares over which Queen Emma had walked were, in mem- 
ory of her extraordinary deliverance, buried in the west cloister of the 
Cathedral of Winchester. 

The Queen and Alwyn, in gratitude for their acquittal of crime, each 
made a donation to the same church. Emma bestowed on it nine manors 
in her own behalf. 

Alwyn likewise bestowed nine manors for himself. 

King Edward made a donation to Winchester Cathedral at the same 
time, consisting of three manors. 1 

Emma, more fortunate even than her daughter Gunilda, thus triumphed 
completely over her enemies. But where was Robert the Archbishop, 
her accuser, when Emma returned thanks to God for her deliverance ? 
The Archbishop " was absent," it is said, " from pity, or some other 
reason," — most probably from shame for the defeat of his conspiracy 
against Emma, and mortification at the triumphant position she would 
obtain by her acquittal. 2 

Emma was, soon after this great event in her life, witness to the quar- 
rels which ensued between the powerful personages who had been so vio- 
lent in their enmity to her. Earl Godwin and Robert, the Norman 
archbishop, embroiled the country in their furious contentions ; and the 
banishment of the first was followed by the expulsion of the second : on 
which Godwin, more than ever potent, returned to revenge his injuries, 
after a brief banishment. 

During these occurrences, the Queen seems to have preferred a safe re- 
tirement, in the possession of her wealth, to again entering the lists with 
the view of obtaining a mastery for which so many ambitious spirits were 
contending. 

The indignity of her trial seems to have weighed heavily on her mind, 
and she buried her grief in the retreat of the cloister of St. Mary of 
Winchester, where, in March, 1052, the year after her triumph, 3 she died. 
Her death is thus mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle : " This year, in the 
second day before the nones of March, died the aged lady, Elfgiva Emma, 
the mother of King Edward and King Hardicanute, the relict of King 
Etheldred and of King Canut; and her body lies at Winchester, in the 
Old Minster, with King Canut." 

Emma was, most probably by her own request, buried beside her Dan- 
ish husband ; in this particular King Edward testifying a respect he had 
failed to show to his mother when living; thus the church that witnessed 
her trial, contained her remains. Her son Hardicanute also rested in 
Winchester Cathedral, by the side of his parents. The tomb of Emma 

trial, he states that Emma was deprived of her lands by the King. The docu- 
ments in Winchester Cathedral, moreover, prove that the Queen had given seve- 
ral manors to that Church, which certainly she could not have done if they were 
not in her possession. — Milner. 

1 Dugdale. 

2 Bale says, " I do not find what became of the accusers of Queen Emma." — 
Historical Dictionary. 

3 Lingard. 



EMMA. 435 

bore an inscription in rude Latin lines, setting forth that the Queen who 
reposed there was wife to two, and mother to two Euglish monarchs. 1 

Emma was great-aunt to William the Conqueror, that King being 
second cousin to her two sons, Edward the Confessor and Hardicanute; 
and, as such, entitled far more justly to the English crown than Harold, 
the son of Godwin, who built his claim on his own power, and being 
brother of the Confessor's childless queen, the fair and harshly-treated 
Edith! 2 

1 Echard. 

2 At the disastrous siege of Winchester, during the reign of Stephen, the tomb 
of Queen Emma was destroyed, together with the " Abbey of St. Mary, twenty 
churches, the royal palace, lately erected in that quarter, the monastery of St. 
Grimbald, the suburbs of Hyde, and, in fact, nearly all the northern part of the 
city. The remains of the Queen were, however, preserved, and still rest within 
the walls of the Abbey, to which she was so great a benefactress. The screen 
which divides the sanctuary from the side aisles, Bishop Fox erected in 1525, 
and " on the top of the partition walls, and under the centre of each arch above 
are six mortuary chests, of carved wood, painted and gilt, and surmounted with 
crowns. These chests contain the remains of Saxon kings, prelates, and other 
distinguished personages interred in the cathedral, and are the work of Bishop 
Fox, who collected the bones from ancient lead coffins, which are supposed to 
have stood formerly in a similar situation. 

The first chest from the altar-screen contains the bones of King Edred, and 
the second those of Edmund, son of Alfred ; the third contains the mingled bones 
of King Canute, of Queen Emma, of King William Rufus, and of Bishops Wina 
and Alwyn. This chest has two inscriptions in Latin to this effect. On one side 
is the following : — 

" In this, and in the other chest opposite, are the remaining bones of Canute 
and Rufus, Kings ; of Emma, Queen ; and of Wina and Alwin, Bishops." 

And on the other side of this chest is the inscription : — 

"In this chest, in the year of our Lord, 1661, were promiscuously laid toge- 
ther the bones of princes and prelates, which had been scattered about, with 
sacrilegious barbarity, in the year of our Lord, 1642." 

So that nineteen years from the second spoliation of Emma's resting-place had 
passed away before the last mortal relics of the former fair " Pearl of Normandy" 
were restored to a consecrated and fitting position. The parliamentary soldiers, 
by whom the outrage had been committed of ravaging the cathedral in 1642, com- 
mitted terrible depredations. " They broke in pieces the carved work of the 
choir, containing the story of the Old and New Testament, which was admirably 
executed. They totally destroyed the ancient organ; seized the rich tapestry, 
cushions, and vestments, in the choir, with the vessels of the altar ; threw down 
the communion-table, and carrying off the rails which encompassed it, they burnt 
them in their quarters. They found a great number of Popish books, pictures, 
and crucifixes, in the prebendal houses, which, after a mock procession, were 
burnt, together with the organ-pipes, in the street. They defaced many of the 
monuments by tearing off their ancient brass inscriptions and other ornaments. 
They pulled down the mortuary chests containing the remains of Saxon kings, 
prelates, and other distinguished personages, and threw the bones at the stained 
glass, which they destroyed throughout the church, with the exception of that at 
the eastern window which had previously been taken out." 

The first and second chests on the south side contain, as before-noticed, the 
bones of Kings Edred and Edmund. The former, who was the youngest son sf 
Edward the Elder, was interred in the cathedral by direction of his friend St 
Dunstan, and the chest has an inscription in Latin, thus rendered: — 



436 EMMA. 

The struggles and vicissitudes of Queen Emma were many ; and her 
character is one, -which cannot be contemplated without exciting reflec- 

"King Edred died 955. In this tomb rests pious King Edred, who nobly 
governed this country of the Britons." 

Edmund, eldest son of Alfred the Great, who -was crowned and died during his 
father's life, was buried in the second chest. The Latin inscription runs thus in 
English : — 

" King Edmund died A. D Edmund, whom this chest contains, and who 

swayed the regal sceptre while his father was living, do thou, Christ, receive." 

The third chest, on the south side, appropriated to Queen Emma, has been de- 
scribed already more particularly ; and the first chest from the pulpit, on the 
north side, with its inscriptions, bones, &c, is similar to it. The second chest on 
the north side contains the remains of Kenewalch, who, with his father Kinegils, 
rebuilt the cathedral ; and those of Egbert, founder of our English monarchy. 
One side has a Latin inscription, translated thus: "King Kenulph died a. d. 
714." And the other side has this inscription: "King Egbert died a. d. 837. 
Here King Egbert rests, with King Kenulph. Each of them bestowed upon us 
munificent gifts." 

The third chest, containing the remains of Kinegils, father of Kenewalch, the 
first Christian King of Wessex, and of St. Ethelwolf, father of Alfred the Great 
is thus inscribed: — "King Kinegils died a. d. 641;" and on the other side, 
" King Adulphus died 857." In this chest lie together the bones of Kinegils and 
Adulphus. The first was the founder, the latter the benefactor, of this church." 

The contents of these mortuary chests were examined a few years ago by 
Henry Howard, Esq., of Corby Castle, and other talented and learned gentlemen, 
from whose account the following was written by the late Dr. Milner, to whom 
the particulars of that investigation were forwarded ; — 

" The first chest from the altar-screen, on the south side, inscribed Edred, con- 
tains many thigh bones and two skulls. The second chest, inscribed Edmund, 
contains five skulls, and three or four thigh-bones. One of the skulls, appears 
to have belonged to a very old man ; another, also, belonged to a very old person. 
These, therefore, might have belonged to Wina and Alwin. The third chest on 
the south side, and the first chest from the pulpit, on the north side, bear the 
names of Canute, Rufus, Emma, Wina, Alwin, and Stigand. Neither of these 
contains any skulls ; but they are full of thigh and leg bones ; one set of which, 
in the third chest, is much smaller and weaker than the rest. This, with the 
supernumerary skull in the chest inscribed Egbert and Kenulph, might possibly 
have belonged to Queen Emma. The chest just referred to is the second from 
the pulpit, and contains three skulls, one of which is very small. One thigh- 
bone, wanting a fellow, is very stout, and measures nearly twenty inches long. 
But the two leg-bones, one of which is rather deformed, and the two hip-bones 
belonging to this body, are in the chest, and answer exactly. There are also 
two other thigh-bones and two leg-bones that pair ; so that, with the exception 
of the third skull, these may be the bones of the aforesaid kings. The third chest 
from the pulpit, inscribed Kinegils and Adulphus, contains two skulls and two 
sets of thigh and leg-bones. From a measurement of the skulls and thighs, it 
appeared that they were about the ordinary size. It should be observed that the 
skulls actually at present in the chests are twelve in number, which is also the 
number of the names inscribed on the same chests. 

"On the fine screen at the back of the capitular chapel in Winchester Cathe- 
dral, and opposite to the Chapel of the Virgin, is seen a range of canopied niches, 
in which formerly stood statues of the most eminent Saxon kings, from Kinegils 
to St. Edward, together with Canute, Hardicanute, Queen Emma, and, with them, 
Christ and the Virgin Mary." 

Thus, huddled together, were the bones of friends and enemies, as if to show 



EMMA. 487 

tion. By turns triumphant and persecuted, she offers a remarkable 
instance of perseverance, courage, and ambition. Of human failing she 
had her share : her virtues were obscured by her too great desire of power, 
and she sacrificed much to obtain the end to which all her aspirations 
were directed. The most pleasing feature in her disposition is, her 
attachment to her husband Canute; with whose interests she identified 
herself, and for whose son she exerted all the energies of her powerful 
and active mind. She was less just to her children by her first marriage, 
but the circumstances of the time are a strong excuse for her conduct to 
them, as, of course, the suspicion of her causing the death of one must 
be at once dismissed. 

That Emma was amongst the most remarkable personages of her 
period will be allowed by all, and her influence on the country over which 
she reigned, renders her biography one of the most interesting of any of 
the British Queens. The name of Queen Emma has been kept alive by 
tradition, and has more than once " adorned a tale." 

As late as the year 1338, when Adam de Orleton, Bishop of Win- 
chester, visited his cathedral priory of St. Swithin, in that city, a min- 
strel, named Herbert, was introduced, who sung the song of Colbrond, a 
Danish giant, and the tale of " Queen Emma delivered from the Plough- 
shares," in the hall of the Prior, Alexander de Herriard. 1 

how useless and how full of folly are human contentions, which all have the 
same close, and, after a few years, are a mere matter of transient wonder and 
curiosity. 
1 Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. i., p. 81. 



37* 



EDITHA "THE GOOD." 

*' Rose among thorns" — Earl Godwin's romantic and eventful story — The Jarl 
Ulf in the forest — The peasant-boy — King Canute's new soldier — His advance- 
ment — Marries Githa ; made Earl — Thora and the slave trade — Bristol the mart 
— Godwin's connexion with royalty — Editha's beauty and meekness — The com- 
pact of Earl Godwin — Delays of King Edward — His dislike to the match with 
Editha — Their marriage — Edward's coldness — Dress and manners of the time 
— Splendour of priests — Wulstan's reproof — Long hair — Editha's humility — 
Her coronation — King Edward's vows — Unkindness to his Queen — The Queen's 
spiritual friends — Westminster Abbey founded — Editha's pious donations — 
Leofrina's will — Curious stone picture on the screen at Westminster Abbey — 
Quarrel of Tostig and Harold, when boys, represented — Installation of Leofric, 
Bishop of Exeter — Famine — Edward remits the tax of Danegelt — Rupture with 
Earl Godwin — Flight of Godwin and his family to Flanders — His banishment — 
Triumph of the Normans — Imprisonment of Queen Editha — Bishop Robert's 
accusation — A year of seclusion at Wherwell — Weakness of Edward — God- 
win's triumphal return — Restoration of his party — The Queen returns to Court 
— Her triumph — Earl Godwin's sudden death — Edward sends for the son of 
Edmund Ironside — His arrival and death — Editha accused of cruelty — Royal 
chaplains — Dedication of Waltham Abbey — Bore-stall — Havering Bower — The 
pilgrim and the ring — Dedication of St. Peter's, Westminster — The King's 
death — Harold succeeds — Battle of Hastings — William the Conqueror — 
Editha's epitaph. 

Amidst the scenes of strife and bloodshed which marked the eleventh 
century, the amiable and gentle-minded Queen Editha appears indeed, as 
one of our historians has observed, like " a rose among thorns." The 
placid and meek sport of party — her pious soul centred itself on that 
better world where strife entereth not, and discordant passions cannot 
dwell. Happy was it for this fair English flower, that, for the sake of 
others, she could dwell resigned in the midst of false splendour, and close 
the portals of her heart against those affections, which, in too many cases, 
make us lose the thoughts of hereafter, in the brief and passing joys of an 
earthly lot. 

Editha was the daughter of that celebrated " King-maker," Earl God- 
win, who played so distinguished a part in the violent contentions of the 
Danes and English which desolated the land for so many years. Her 
father's history is one of those which fill the pages of the past with 
romantic incident. From a humble position, he rose, first by accident, 
and afterwards by his genius and valour, to an equality with monarchs, 
to whom he became allied, and his enormous power swayed the destinies 
of nations, while kings were playthings in his hands. 

After one of the five famous battles fought against the Danes by Ed- 

(438) 



E D I T II A . 439 

mund Ironside, in which that warlike prince had rescued London, and 
retrieved the wavering fortunes of his country,' a Danish jarl, named 
Ulf, who had escaped from the scene of contest to a distance from his 
followers, lost his way in a wood, where, after wandering about through 
the whole night, he encountered at break of day, a young peasant with a 
drove of oxen : — " Ulf, having saluted him," says the chronicler, " in- 
quired his name. * I am called Godwin, son of Ulfnoth,' answered the 
shepherd, 'and thou, if I mistake not, art of the Danish army?' Thus 
forced to confess who he was, the Dane entreated the young man to 
inform him of his distance from the vessels which were stationed in the 
Severn, or neighbouring rivers, and the road he ought to pursue to gain 
them. 'Foolish indeed,' replied Godwin, 'is the Dane who expects his 
safety from a Saxon.' Ulf besought the shepherd, nevertheless, to leave 
his cattle and guide him, making him those promises of reward which 
would be likely to influence a poor and simple-minded man. ' The way 
is not long/ returned the Saxon, ' but it would be dangerous for me to 
lead thee into it. The peasants, encouraged by our victory of yesterday, 
are armed throughout the country, and would show no favour, neither to 
thee, nor to thy guide.' 

" On this, the chief took a gold ring from his finger, and offered it to 
the peasant, who took it, and after contemplating it for a few moments, 
gave it back to him, saying, ' I will take nothing from thee, but I will try 
to conduct thee.' 

"They passed the day in the cottage of Ulfnoth, Godwin's father; at 
night, when they were departing, the old man said to the Dane, ' Know, 
that it is my only son who trusts himself to thy honour: there will be 
no safety for him amongst his countrymen when he has served thee as a 
guide ; present him, therefore, to thy King, that he may receive him 
into his service.' 

" Ulf promised this and much more for Godwin, and he kept his word. 
When they arrived at the Danish camp, he made the peasant's son sit in 
his tent, on a scat as elevated as his own, and treated him in every re- 
spect as his son. He obtained a military command for him from King 
Canute, and in. process of time, this identical Saxon shepherd rose to the 
rank of governor of a province in England, which was occupied by the 
Danes, and was afterwards destined twice to destroy the foreign power by 
which he had risen. 

" Godwin, from the first, by his promptitude and boldness, rendered 
service to Canute, and one of his early services was rewarded by the rank 
of Earl. This was on the occasion of Canute, then in Denmark, under- 
taking a campaign against the Vends. A battle was fixed for a certain 
day, with these barbarians, but Godwin, seeing that it was dangerous to 
lose time, ventured without the King's knowledge, to attack the enemy 
the night before, whom he entirely routed and put to flight, thereby ren- 
dering an essential benefit to the cause of his commander, whose gratitude 
knew no bounds. 

" On Canute's return to England the following spring, the counties of 

1 Knytlinga Saga. 



440 E D I T H A . 

Kent, Sussex, and Surrey were given to the new Earl ; and his services 
were, shortly after, further rewarded by the hand of Gyda, sister of Earl 
Ulphon, 1 who afterwards became mother of a numerous and promising 
family, and of these, one daughter, bearing the maternal name of Gyda 
or Editha, was destined to become the Queen-Consort of Edward the 
Confessor." 

Godwin had previously been married to a Danish princess, named 
Thora, by whom he had an only son afterwards drowned in the river 
Thames, into which he was thrown by an unruly horse. Thora is said 
to have been nearly related to Canute ; she was not, however, the mother 
of Editha, nor is it desirable to know more of her, as she is described as 
" a woman of much infamy, for the trade she drove of buying up English 
youths and maids to sell in Denmark, whereof she made great gain, but 
ere long was struck with thunder and died." 2 

The laws of Ethelred prove the horrible state of barbarity and cruelty 
existing in the country at this period ; and the sermon extant of Lupus, 
(Bishop Wulfstan) written against the atrocities committed, is another 
evidence of the fearful consequence of the unsettled state of society. A 
traffic in slaves was carried on to an enormous extent. Bristol being one 
of the great marts, gaining at that early time a remarkable celebrity 
which the city kept to a late period, deserving the reproach of "her 
stones being cemented with blood." Greater cruelties were practised in 
England than amongst negro tribes, " brother sold brother, the father his 
son, the son his mother." 3 

Both Godwin's wives are spoken of as related to Sweyn, King of Den- 
mark. According to Snorro, Ulf and his sister Gyda, were children of 
Thorkel Sprakalegg; Ulf had been placed over Denmark by Canute 
during his absence in England, he being the husband of Estrida, Canute's 
sister, the repudiated Duchess of Normandy, who at the time of Queen 
Emma's espousals had been united to her brother. The hand of Ulf's 
sister, Gyda, was, therefore, likely to be the coveted prize of many a 
Saxon and Danish chief. By this alliance, Godwin beheld himself a 
second time closely united to both the English and Danish royal families, 
and with the children of Ethelred and Canute : and Sweyn Ulfson, after- 
wards King of Denmark, nephew of his wife Gyda, connected him still 
further with that country. 

Queen Editha is universally represented as possessing great beauty and 
accomplishments. The ambitious views, as well as affection of her parents, 
had induced them to bestow on her an education surpassing that of her 
sex in general. 4 She had been brought up in the Monastery of Wilton, 
distinguished for its learning, and afterwards noted as the spot selected 
for the education of "Good Queen Maude," wife of King Henry the 
First. While still at Wilton, Editha became remarkable for her acquire- 
ments, having a knowledge of books rarely attained in any age. As an 
instance of her taste for literature, Ingulphus relates that when he was 
a boy, his father being at King Edward's court, he had many interviews 

1 Snorro. 2 Milton. ' Lappenberg. 

4 Burke's English History, Holinshed and others. 



E D I T H A . 441 

with the Queen, who would often stop him as he came from school, make 
him repeat his lesson, ask him questions in grammar and logic, and as a 
reward give him " a few pieces of silver, and send him to the larder." ' 
Brompton tells us that "her breast was a storehouse of all liberal science," 
in which she differed greatly from the other members of her family, for 
neither Godwin nor his sons had any pretensions to literature. All our 
writers concur in praising her mental acquirements. Malmesbury calls 
her " a woman whose bosom was the school of every liberal art, though 
little skilled in earthly matters : on seeing her, if you were amazed at 
her erudition, you must absolutely languish for the purity of her mind 
and the beauty of her person." 

Editha had been instructed in the popular art of needlework, in which 
she became quite a proficient. With her own hands the Queen is said to 
have wrought the magnificent robes 2 in which King Edward was accus- 
tomed to array himself on his collar-days or other great occasions; these 
were embroidered with gold in the most sumptuous manner. This King 
is described as being tall and well made in person, and possessing a white 
skin, fair hair, and a rosy complexion. Edward, in spite of his sanctity, 
delighted in the pomp of dress, in which he was not superior to the young 
men of his day. The age was one of singular taste for finery, even the 
clergy studying dress as much as the laity, and seeking to adorn their 
robes with richer furs than those worn by their neighbours. For this 
these prelates were reproved by Bishop TVulstan in these words : " Believe 
me, I never heard chanted Cattus Dei, but Agnus Dei." 3 Wulstan also 
boldly inveighed against the effeminate practice, then fashionable, of wear- 
ing long hair. When any one came to him to receive a blessing, and 
bowed down his head for that purpose, Wulstan, before he gave it, cut 
off a lock of his hair with a little sharp knife that he carried about him, 
and commanded him, by way of penance, to cut the remainder in a 
similar manner, denouncing heavy judgments against those who neglected 
to attend to his injunction. 4 The Saxon method of cutting and arranging 
the hair in the fourth century had the effect of enlarging the appearance 
of the face and diminishing the head. At a later period it was worn 

1 Lingard. 

2 The Domesday Book records that Leivede, a Wiltshire maiden, wrought in 
the time of King Edward aurifrisium for the King and Queen. This was a species 
of gold work, so much valued, that this same person held half a hide of land in 
Bucks, the grant of Godrei, the sheriff, that she might teach his daughter to 
make or/rays, for many centuries it was in fashion. The exquisite work of 
Editha has been noticed, and the garments of the Saxon hostages were a subject 
of surprise to the Normans, as the Conqueror's chaplain tells us : some of these 
specimens of needlework were left by Queen Matilda in her will to the Abbey of 
the Holy Trinity of Caen. 

2 Green's Worcester, p. 7. 

4 Pictures of Edward the Confessor and his Queen Editha, may be seen in Du- 
carel's Anglo-Norman Antiquities, in Strutt's Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiqui- 
quities, and also in Caxton's Golden Legend. Harold's picture may also be seen 
in both these works. Edward the Confessor, as appears by his seal in Speed, 
wore very short cropped hair, but whiskers and beard exceedingly long. — Peck's 
Desiderata Curiosa. 



442 EDITIIA. 

diffused upon the shoulders, and the man who seized another by the hair 
was punishable by law. In France great value was attached to the orna- 
ment of hair ; it was even necessary to any prince to enable him to ascend 
the throne, in which the Franks and Saxons differed from the ancient 
Britons, whose princes cropped their hair like the monks. Great pains 
were lavished on the cultivation of the hair by the French, so that if any 
one could boast of a peculiarity in this respect, he obtained a suitable 
surname, as among the Danes Sweyn was called Forked-beard, and a 
whole nation was called Longobardi or Lombards. 1 

The kings and nobles, when in their state dress, were habited in a 
loose coat, which reached down to their ankles, and over that a long robe, 
fastened on both shoulders, and on the middle of the breast, with a clasp 
or buckle. The edges and bottoms of their coats, as well as of their 
robes, were often trimmed with a broad gold edging, or else flowered with 
different colours. 

The soldiers and common people wore close cloaks reaching only to 
the knee, and a short cloak over the left shoulder, which buckled on the 
right; this cloak was often trimmed with an edging of gold. The kings 
and nobles, also, in common were habited in a dress very similar to this, 
only richer and more elegant. 2 

Editha, notwithstanding her great elevation, is said to have been 
" very humble, and at variance with no one." This " very beautiful, 
virtuous, and chaste princess was wholly exempt from the savage pride 
which distinguished her whole family, 3 and in a court filled with strife and 
contention behaved with mildness and benevolence to all around her; so 
that, however hostile the ancient writers have shown themselves to God- 
win and his sons, they have done justice to Editha." 

She deserved a better fate than to be united to a man who did not ap- 
preciate her virtues and who never could dissociate her from her father, 
whom he hated, suspecting or affecting to suspect him, to the last, of the 
murder of his brother, Prince Alfred. Edward was almost forced into 
his union with Editha, and was perfectly aware of Godwin's ambitious 
motives in raising his daughter to the throne of England. It was only 
on the condition of his promise of marriage with her, that the powerful 
Earl restored him. 

Edward resembled his father in disposition, having a weak constitution 
by nature, and a narrow genius, so that it was not difficult for those who 
had their own private ends to promote, to obtain an ascendency over his 
mind. As for Godwin, he had so much power at court, that as much 
deference was paid to him as to the King himself, although no real 
friendship existed between the Earl and his royal master. On one point 
the King was quite resolved, and that was to put off his marriage with 
Editha as long as possible, probably with a hope of evading it altogether. 
Pretext after pretext was devised as an excuse for this delay ; but at 
length, at the expiration of two years, he was obliged to redeem the 
pledge he had given. 

1 Turner's Anglo-Saxons. * Strutt. 3 Lingard. 



ED IT HA. 443 

The nuptials were solemnized " ten days before Candlemas," ' A. D. 
1044, Edward being then in the forty-fourth year of his age, much older 
than his bride. Although the fact is not exactly stated, it may be pre- 
sumed that all the proud Godwin family were present at these triumphant 
espousals, including Githa and the many brothers of Editha, who are 
said afterwards to have obtained favour in the eyes of the King their 
brother-in-law, or, at least, to have appeared to do so. 

The coronation of Editha soon followed, another triumph to the ambi- 
tious aspirations of Earl Godwin, whose aim was thus completely attained. 
A curious commentary on the deceptive glory of human successes is 
afforded in an account of the crown worn by Queen Editha on this and 
other state occasions : it is described in an inventory of that part of the 
regalia now removed from Westminster to the Tower Jewel House : — 

" Queen Editha's crowne, formerly thought to be of massy gould, but 
upon triall found to be of silver gilt, enriched with garnetts, foule pearle, 
saphires, and some odd stones, p. oz. 50$, valued at £16." 

If this account be true, it would almost seem as if Edward had 
intended thus early to affront the pride of the Godwin family , but it is 
more likely that there was another crown used on the occasion, and that 
this was not the only one possessed by the Queen; or it might be, that 
the jewels had been changed. It is interesting to trace back to this epoch 
those different portions of the modern regalia which are used at the coro- 
nation of our English sovereigns : 2 the Sword, the Sceptre, the Orb, the 
lling, &c, are all derived from Anglo-Saxon customs, at the ceremony of 
coronation. The investiture by the ring was one of the most ancient 
ways of conferring dignity, and the ancient Coronation Ring is called also 
"The Wedding Ring of England." The queen consort had also a ring 
provided for her coronation, which is of gold, with a large table ruby set 
therein, and sixteen other small rubies set round about the ring, of which 
those next to the setting are the largest, the rest diminishing in propor- 
tion. That the sword was carried at Arthur's Coronation has been already 
mentioned, and not one only, but four several swords, each borne by a 
separate person. There are still four swords used in the coronation of a 
British sovereign : 1st. The Sword of State ; 2d. The Curtana, or point'- 
less Sword of Mercy ; 3d. The Sword of Spiritual Justice ; 4th. The 
Sword of Justice of the Temporality. 

At Queen Guenever's Coronation, four queens bore each in their hand 
a white pigeon, having, probably, an allusion to the feast of Pentecost. 
Whether the dove which surmounts the sceptre of the monarchs of 
Britain has the same allusion it is difficult to say. The first House of 
French Kings always bore for a staff a golden rod, being crooked at one 
end, to resemble the crosier or pastoral staff, and was the same height as 
the King who bore it. The Queen-Consort of England has a Virga or 
Ivory Rod, garnished with gold, rather more than a yard long, surmounted 
by a dove enamelled white. 

St. Edward's Staff, so named from the husband of Editha, is still car- 
ried before the English sovereigns in the coronation procession. It is a 

1 Saxon Chronicle. 3 Lingard. 



444 EDITHA. 

golden sceptre or staff, four feet eleven inches long, having a foot of steel, 
about four inches in length, with a mound and a cross at the top. • It is 
about three quarters of an inch in diameter, and the ornaments are 
of gold. 

From Edward the Confessor's time also, every English sovereign has 
been represented on coins or seals as bearing a globe in the left hand. 
The orb or globe was assumed by Augustus, the Roman Emperor, and 
friend of Cymbeline, and implied universal dominion. Constantine, the 
first Christian Emperor, added a cross to the globe. The statue of Jus- 
tinian is thus described: "In his left hand he held a globe, in which a 
cross was fixed, which showed that by faith in the cross, he was emperor 
of the earth. For the globe denotes the earth, which is of like form ; 
and the cross denotes faith, because God in the flesh was nailed to it." 

It might have been expected that Edward's union with a princess pos- 
sessed of so many attractions, and such sweetness of disposition as Editha, 
would have softened his feelings towards the Godwin family, and by de- 
grees overcome his resentment : on the contrary, it proved but the cause 
of fresh strife with the Earl, and the hatred of the King towards him 
seemed transferred but the more bitterly to his daughter, because it could 
only be shown in that way. Editha could never acquire either the affec- 
tions or confidence of her husband, and, his tardy nuptials solemnized, 
the King, far from evincing any love for Editha, did not treat her as his 
wife ; so that, although fear of the powerful Earl, her father, deterred 
Edward from discarding Editha from his throne, the marriage was a mere 
matter of form : though attributing his conduct to an excess of self-nega- 
tion, the titles of Saint and Confessor were afterwards accorded to him 
by the monkish chroniclers, and the most extravagant praises lavished on 
the virtuous example set by him, an example which, in those ages, called 
forth unqualified admiration. 1 It is indeed recorded, that at the time 
when Edward was importuned by his council to marry, he himself dis- 
closed to Editha that he had bound himself to a life of celibacy, and 
should merely place her by his side on the throne : 2 William of Malmes- 
bury declares he never could discover whether, in this instance, Edward 
acted from dislike to her family, which he prudently dissembled from the 
exigency of the times, or from motives of a pious nature ; 3 but authors 
generally attribute his conduct rather to the first cause. 4 The smothered 
aversion he entertained for the Earl, was repeatedly exhibited in his 
treatment of Editha, his union with her being a daily recurring sting, 
showing the fear and forced submission under which he writhed. The 
gentle Queen resigned herself without a murmur to her husband's ill- 
treatment; and when she found all her endeavours to win the affections 
of Edward proved fruitless, she turned her thoughts solely to religion, 
and consoled herself by performing acts of devotion. Some, indeed, go 
so far as to say that Editha was perfectly agreeable to King Edward, but 
that her feelings being the same as his own, they mutually agreed to live 
on these distant terms. Edward was popular with the whole nation, and 
he is represented by his friends, the monks, as possessed of such great 

1 Hume, William of Malniesbury. ■ Lingard. a Holinshed. * Grafton. 



E D I T H A . 445 

patience, that he could scarcely ever be put in a passion. 1 He was, be- 
sides, the " father of the poor, and protector of the weak, more willing 
to give than to receive, and better pleased to pardon than to punish." 
The Queen is said also to have distinguished herself by her generosity. 

In one point, certainly, Edward and his Queen were agreed, the pat- 
ronage of the church and its holy prelates. Leofstan, Abbot of St. 
Alban's, is spoken of as the friend, confessor, and counsellor of both 
Edward and Editha: 2 to the former he filled the office of chaplain, and 
between this prelate and Queen Editha was a strict friendship. 3 

An old register of the Church of Worcester testifies how " Agelwin 
Dean of Worcester, and his brother Ordric, gave three lassats of land in 
Cundicotan to the monks there, which grant is confirmed by Edward, 4 
and then Queen Editha." 5 

One of the earliest undertakings of King Edward after his marriage, 
was the foundation of that noble structure, the Abbey of Westminster. 
While yet an exile in Normandy, the son of Ethelred had vowed, in 
case of his obtaining the crown of his ancestors, that he would under- 
take a pilgrimage to Rome ; and now that he was firmly seated on the 
throne, he did not forget this vow. It had been a subject of meditation 
until the year 1043, when he summoned his nobles and clergy, and in- 
formed them of his intentions. It was suggested that to go to Rome in 
person, would be dangerous both to himself and to his kingdom, but that 
ambassadors should be sent to the Pope to obtain a dispensation. This 
advice was adopted by Edward, and the dispensation granted, on condi- 
tion that the money intended to be spent on the journey should be given 
to the poor, and that the King should either erect a new monastery, or 
repair some old one to the honour of St. Peter. On this King Edward 
caused his whole estates and possessions to be decimated, and appropriated 
to the pulling down the ruined Saxon Church which King Sigebert had 
built, and erecting in the same place a stately fabric, instead of the 
money being expended, as he had purposed, in a pilgrimage to Rome. 

The earliest charter to the monastery is dated A. D. 1045, and signed 
first by the King, then by his mother " Alfgitha," and thirdly by Editha, 
his Queen. It would, therefore, seem that both ladies were present at 
the donation of the charter, and that the proud Norman widow of Ethel- 
red and Canute took precedence in this instance, as perhaps in others, of 
her gentle daughter-in-law, the child of her old rival, Godwin. 

Edward likewise founded that Church of St. Margaret, which now 
stands without the Abbey. The old church of St. Margaret standing in 
the way of the cloisters which were to be erected for the Abbey of St. 
Peter, the King caused it to be pulled down, and the present building 
erected." 6 

The erection of the Church of St. Peter was certainly the great event 
of Edward's reign : it occupied a space of twenty years, and was only 
finished at the close of his career. While the King was occupied in di- 
recting the new building at Westmiuster, an object zealously seconded 

1 Hallam. 2 Dugdale. 3 Weever. 

4 Lingard. s Carter and Dugdale, Selden. 6 Dart's Westminster. 

38 



446 E D I T H A . 

by his amiable consort, Editha began and completed an Abbey of stone 
at Wilton, in lieu of the wooden one in wbicb sbe bad been educated ; 
most of tbe early Saxon buildings being constructed of wood ; ' tbis cir- 
cumstance marks tbe Queen's attachment to the spot in wbicb her earlier 
years, probably tbe happiest portion of her life, had been passed. 2 

Editha appears to have had considerable property in England for her 
own private use, so that she was able to indulge her wishes in respect to 
pious donations and charities. 

Her estates were very numerous, and situated in almost every county 
in England. In Somersetshire alone, she held Milverton, Twiverton, 
Crewkerne, Luckham, Bruiton, and Chewton Meudip, manors which 
yielded an annual sum of 100^. 3 Martock likewise, also in the same 
county, and Camel-Queens, so named from being vested in the queens of 
this realm. This place, at the Norman Survey, yielded 28^. of white 
money. Rivenhall, in Essex, also formed part of Editha's estates; so 
also was Bath (called Bade in Domesday Book). Wycombe, in Bucks, 
which was worth 121. per annum, belonged to Editha ; and Buthric held 
that manor, as her tenant, 4 during Edward's reign. 

Notwithstanding she was the possessor of all these rich territories, 
Editha, on one occasion, manifests something of the acquisitive spirit 
of the Godwin race in laying claim to the town of Fisherton, which Leo- 
frina, "a London Lady," had bequeathed by her will to the Abbey of 
Peterborough. Editha disputed this donation, and laid claim to the 
village in question, which she pretended Leofrina had decreed to her. 
A contest ensued, which terminated in the Abbey paying forty marks of 
gold to the Queen, and forty marks more in the ornaments of the church. 5 
Leofrina was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, at the time of her death, 
about A. D. 1060. She is noticed by Stowe among his " Worthy Acts of 
Women." 6 

" The royal duty or revenue, known by the name of Queen Gold, and 
which belongs to every queen of England during her marriage to the 
king, was first paid to Queen Editha. This money is due and payable 
by persons in this kingdom and Ireland, on divers grants of the king, by 
way of fine or oblation, &c, and is one full tenth part above the entire 
fines on pardons, contracts, or agreements, which becomes a real debt to 
the queen, by the name of Aurum IIegin^e, upon the party's bare agree- 
ment with the king for his fine, and recording the same." 7 

1 Wilton nunnery was first built by St. Alburg, sister of Egbert, for an abbess 
and twelve nuns ; the number of the latter was increased by Alfred the Great to 
twenty-six. 

2 Domesday Book, Britton and Brayley, Collinson. 

3 Camden relates this on the authority of Mr. Douce in his account of Wilton. 
That author says he found it in a Life of Edward the Confessor. — Dugdale. 

4 Langley's History and Antiquities of Desborough. 

6 Stowe's London. 6 Ency. Brit. 

7 Selden, -who names the duty called " Aurum Reginse," mentioning the follow- 
ing privileges attached to the queenly dignities in England : — "Divers prerogatives 
also are allowed in our laws to the Queen-wife, as those of making gifts or con- 
tracts, or suing without the King, and receiving by gift from her husband (which 



EDITHA. 447 

For some time after the marriage of Edward, peace was preserved 
between him and Earl Godwin, whose family were admitted to familiar 
communion with him and the Queen. During this interval, an incident 
occurred considered so worthy of note at the time as to be recorded in 
imperishable stone. It is represented in the eighth compartment of the 
screen of King Edward the Confessor, in Westminster Abbey, 1 and pre- 
sents to the eye. as well as to the mind, a picture of manners very remark- 
able. Tosti and Harold, the sons of Godwin, had a quarrel at the King's 
table ; and, in the sculpture, " the contending brothers are shown in the 
foreground of the design, whilst Earl Godwin and the King and Queen 
are on the opposite side of a table, on which is a covered cup, with several 
articles of food." The quarrel between the sons of Godwin, who were yet 
boys, arose in consequence of the envious jealousy of Tosti at the King's 
drinking to Harold, his younger brother, in preference to himself. 
Harold, by superior strength, after Tosti had caught him by the hair and 
pulled him violently to the ground, recovered his feet, "and layed mightie 
blowes upon his brother, so that the King himself was fayne to put his 
hand and to separate them." 2 He then foretold the calamities which 
would befall the realm through the contention of the brothers, when 
arrived at manhood, and intimated their untimely and respective fates. 
The outline of this relation is corroborated by different historians. The 
designs for the singular sculptures upon the screen in Westminster Abbey 
have been chiefly deduced from Ailred's account of the Life and Miracles 
of King Edward, which was written in the time of Henry II., and pre- 
sented to that monarch by Abbot Lawrance, on the very day, A. D. 1163, 
when, in honour of his recent canonization, the Confessor's remains were 
removed into a new shrine." 

One of the remarkable and interesting records left of Queen Editha is 
that which concerns the Installation of Leofric, as first Bishop of Exeter. 
King Edward removed the Bishop's See from St. Germanus, at Crediton, 
to Exeter ; and Editha, with her husband, assisted to instal Leofric, 
already Lord Chancellor of England and a member of the King's Privy 

no other femme coverte may do), having her courts and officers, as if she were a 
sole person ; that if the King or she be plaintifl", the summons in the process need 
not have the solemnity of fifteen days, which is extended also to their children, 
brothers, sisters, and a ses parens, as Bracton says, and such like. It is also trea- 
son to plot against her life." — Selden's Titles of Honour. 

The duty was suspended during the reign of Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth, 
there being no Queen-consort for sixty years : it was claimed by the Queens of 
James the First and Charles the First. — Sir H. Ellis's Introduction to Domesday 
Book. 

1 Lambard's Topographical Dictionary, article "Wynsore." That the Queen 
was present when Harold and Tosti quarrelled is confirmed by Caxton. Holins- 
hed says it happened at Windsor the last year of Edward's reign. A MS. written 
in the time of Edward the First, and illuminated with great care, represents this 
famous quarrel, and has been copied in Strutt's Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiqui- 
ties, where maybe seen the picture of Queen Editha. Snorro tells us that Harold, 
Godwin's youngest son, " was brought up at Edward's court, and was his foster- 
son. The King loved him very much, and kept him as his own son, for he had 
no son." 

a Neale's Westminster Abbey. 



448 ED IT HA. 

Council, as the first abbot of that church. The installation took place on 
the 27th of May, A. D. 1049, in the sixth year of the reign of Edward. 
As an instance of the great favour and honour which the bishop received 
from both the King and Queen at his instalment, we may quote the words 
of King Edward's Charter, viz. : " I, King Edward, taking Bishop Leofric 
by the right hand, and Edith, my Queen, by the left, do install him the 
first and most famous Bishop of Exeter, with a great desire of abundance 
of blessings to all such as should further and increase the same ; but with 
a fearful and execrable curse upon all such as should diminish or take 
anything from it;" and within the choir, adjoining the high altar, is a 
monument, fairly arched, and under the same arch are three seats with 
side pillars of brass, erected in memory of the said King Edward, Edith 
his Queen, and Leofric, the first Bishop of Exeter ; the middle of them 
being the seat of the said bishop, sitting in his pontificals between the 
King and the Queen. 1 

The year 1051 2 was signalized by one of the most dreadful famines 
ever known in England. A quarter of wheat rose to sixty pennies, a sum 
equal to fifteen shillings of our present money; consequently it was as dear 
if it now cost 71. 10s., and far exceeded that great dearth in the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth, when a quarter of wheat was sold for 4?. 3 Thousands 
were perishing for want, and it was the sight of the misery of the people 
on this occasion that led the King to repeal the heavy and odious tax 
called the Danegelt. 4 The mind of Edward was first attracted to the 
circumstance by his Queen Editha; who, one day, accompanied by her 
brother Harold, conducted him into the royal treasury, where the vast 
amount of this collected tax had been deposited. Edward was so affected 
by the sight of this large sum at such a moment of national affliction, 
that he immediately ordered the money to be restored to its former owners, 
and no more to be raised on such an assessment. Few incidents in the 
life of Editha show her character in a more humane and amiable light 
than this instance of blessed pity. 

In the year previous to the famine, an open rupture took place between 
Earl Godwin and the King, on the occasion of Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, 
the husband of G-oda, King Edward's sister, having landed at Dover, and 
unjustly and tyrannously treating the inhabitants — forcing them to pro- 
vide dwellings for himself and his men — a fray with the townsmen 
ensuing, in which many were killed. The foreigners, being overcome by 
the people of the country after a loss of eighty men, fled to Gloucester 
to the King, complaining of their wrongs. Earl Godwin, who took the 
part of the English, but could not convince King Edward, assembled a 
large army and marched into Gloucestershire, threatening to make war 
on his sovereign unless Eustace aud all his men were delivered into his 

' Dugdale, Weever, Isaacke's Antiquities of Exeter, Speed. 

2 A snow-stirm fell this year, in January, so deep that it covered the ground 
to the middle of March, causing cattle and fowls in abundance to perish; and 
the next year was remarkable for an earthquake, and lightnings which burnt up 
the cornfields and produced a dearth. — Howel, Med. Hist. Angl. 

a Hume. * Hoveden and Ingulphus, Sharon Turner. 



E D I T II A . 449 

hands. The King refused, and commanded Godwin to repair to court 
and accouut for his conduct. The royal order not. being obeyed, Edward, 
by sentence of his court, banished Godwin and his five sons from England. 
Accordingly, the Earl and his wife, their son Tosti and his wife Judith, 
daughter of Baldwin Earl of Flanders, with Sweyn and Gurth, also sons 
of ( todwin, took shipping, with immense treasures, and went to Flanders, 
to Earl Baldwin. Harold and Leofwin went to Bristol, and crossed the 
sea into Ireland : there they took refuge with King Donough, who is said 
to have espoused Driella, their sister. The Irish King received his English 
relatives with much honour, and they remained in Ireland all that win- 
ter, " on the King's security." The following year, Donough assisted 
them with a squadron of nine ships, or, as some say, a considerable body 
of land forces, with which they made a successful landing in Britain. 1 
Of Donough, it is related that he either introduced first into Ireland, or 
encouraged, the custom of celebrating games or athletic sports on the 
Sabbath-day ; the coostus, or gloves used by the pugilists, being distri- 
buted, as it is said, in the King's own mansion, 2 perhaps, by the hand of 
the fair Driella. This was plainly done in honour of the day, and not a 
desecration of its duties; for, another author tells us that this king was 
a scrupulous observer of the Sabbath, and forbade any one to carry bur- 
dens, or hold hunting-matches or fairs on that day. Some have thought 
that the marriage of Driella, and flight of many Euglish nobles to Ire- 
land, in consequence of William the Conqueror's tyranny, where the 
Saxon protection, through her influence, was to be found, occasioned an 
improved knowledge of architecture in that country. 3 

The King had not only banished Godwin and his sons, but caused their 
estates to be confiscated. These were enormous, 4 and spread over nume- 
rous counties. 

As might have been expected, the disgrace of her family involved also 
that of Editha ; but it was necessary to have some form of accusation 
against her, which was not long wanting to her enemies. The usual pre- 
tence of infidelity to the King, a common resource against a defenceless 
woman, was set up, the accuser chosen being Robert, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury. This mau was a native of Normandy and monk of Jumieges, 
who had been known to King Edward during his exile abroad, and whom 
he had invited to England. After his arrival he was made Bishop of 
London, and subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury. 5 Of this prelate 
Speed remarks, " I am fully persuaded that the accusation with which 
Editha was charged by Robert, the Archbishop, was more upon envy to 
her father than truth of so foul a fact in her whose virtues were so many 
and so memorable, by report of authors that were eye-witnesses." The 
charge would be unworthy of notice but for the consequences to the 
innocent Queen, who on her death-bed, as well as at the time, protested 
that it was entirely false; her whole course of life was sufficient to prove 
this, even if the motives of Edward had not been as transparent as they 

1 Moore, O'Halloran. 2 Ibid. 

3 Grose's Antiquities. ' Roger of AVendover. 

5 William of Malmesbury. 

38 * 2d 



450 E D I T H A . 

were. His vengeance against Earl Godwin, whether merited or not, — 
and in this instance it was ill-directed, — could not be complete without 
his daughter sharing his punishment. 

Infamous and unjust as this accusation of the Archbishop was, Editha 
was treated most rigorously by the King her husband, who not only ex- 
pelled her from his court, but subjected her to every possible disgrace. 
All her goods were taken from her, and, stripped of her lands, furniture 
and money, in which she shared the fate of the whole Godwin family, 
Editha was committed a prisoner to the Monastery of Wherwell, in 
Hampshire. The sister of King Edward presided over this establish- 
ment, and that abbess was appointed to keep her prisoner "very strictly;" 
one solitary female alone of all her train being permitted to attend on the 
deposed Queen. The King's Norman favourites indulged in scoffs and 
jeers at her expense, remarking, " that it was not fit that at the time 
when her family were suffering banishment, she herself should sleep on 
down." So many contradictions occur in early history, that, although 
some writers have recorded the severe treatment experienced by Editha, 
a contemporary historian affirms that on this distressing occasion the poor 
Queen was conducted with royal pomp to Wherwell, and informed that 
her confinement there was only a measure of temporary precaution. 1 As 
the author of this statement dedicated his work, which was the Life of 
King Edward, to Queen Editha, it deserves to have some weight. The 
circumstance would show Edward's own conviction of the Queen's inno- 
cence, and how little the merited harsh treatment. There is a clear 
proof also in his abandoning himself to the rule of Archbishop Robert 
at this epoch, as he had formally resigned himself to that of Godwin, that 
he required the direction of some master-mind, and was "steered by each 
pilot according as the rudder of his destiny was turned." Under the 
influence of the Archbishop's faction, it seemed by this sudden stroke on 
the fortune of Editha, that Edward's intention really was never again 
to receive back his wife, and that, although till now he had preserved 
fair terms with the daughter of his enemy's hated house, he had parted 
from her at the very first moment that he could do so with safety to 
himself. 2 

Editha's accusation and punishment were similar to those of Queen 
Emma, who received at the hands of her son no better treatment than 
his wife, and the same convent received both. However gratified Queen 
Emma might have been to have seen the ruin of the man who had alter- 
nately been her bitterest enemy and her ally, she could scarcely help 
sympathizing with her innocent daughter-in-law, the victim of the enmity 
of the same Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had been instru- 
mental in her own degradation, signal as the victory she obtained over 
him had been. 

Editha bore her wrongs more meekly, and made no appeal to the fiery 
ordeal which Queen Emma had passed through ; perhaps, aware of her 
father's real power, and the love borne to him by the English, as well as 
rheir hatred of the Norman favourites, she looked forward to his return 

Quoted by Stowe, p. 96, and alluded to by Dr. Lingard. a Rapin. 



E D I T II A . 451 

and ber own restoration ; and these hopes supported tier through a whole 
year, in spite of the natural tears which she shed during the forced 
retreat to which her husband's weakness and cruelty had condemned her. 

But though Godwin, taken unawares, had submitted for a time to the 
force of circumstances, it was not to be expected that so powerful a leader, 
and one so popular in the country, would be content to abandon his pos- 
sessions and his sway to the Norman favourites of the irresolute and 
priest-governed Edward. The struggle was soon renewed, and this time 
conducted with so much skill and vigour that, after a series of defeats and 
mortifications, Edward was obliged to succumb. The strong feeling of 
the nation was in favour of Earl Godwin, whose disgrace was felt to have 
taken j)lace in consequence of his having defended the rights of the 
people against the oppression of the insolent Normans, and the King 
found himself unable to stand against the pressure. The Anglo-Danish 
yoke had, by this time, become light to the English. Canute had been 
admired and esteemed ; but the foreign notions of Edward, which con- 
demned everything English, habits, customs, and language, had disgusted 
the people with his court. The ill-treatment of Editha, the daughter of 
their popular chief, rankled in their minds ; so far from molesting him, 
they declared for Godwin, from every part of the coast along which his 
fleet paused to ask for supplies, and when they found that a powerful 
fleet from Ireland, under the conduct of one of his sons, had reinforced 
his army, the whole country rushed to his side. The Welsh, glad of an 
opportunity to revenge old feuds, joined with the strongest party, and 
England was once more in the control of Godwin. 

Then commenced a headlong flight on the other side; "there was 
mounting in hot haste" — the Norman favourites, seized with panic, rushed 
for their lives to their ships, got on board at any sacrifice, and left the 
King and his capital to the successful Earl. Edward was forced to appear 
content after having stood stiffly out as long as it was possible ; and the 
end of all this confusion, bloodshed, and devastation, was Godwin's 
entire restoration to all his honours and possessions, the expulsion of 
Robert the Archbishop, and all the Normans in power, and the return, 
with suitable pomp and circumstance, of the disgraced Queen Editha. 1 

All now seemed prosperous with the family of Godwin, and Editha's 
heart was relieved of the burthen of sorrow which had lately nearly crushed 
her. Nothing was now to be heard but rejoicing; and festivals, both 
courtly and religious, filled up the time of the triumphant party. It was at 
one of these, which took place at Easter, at Winchester, that while sitting 
at table with the King, the Queen and all the court, in the midst of con- 
viviality, 2 Earl Godwin was suddenly seized with a fit of apoplexy and 
fell speechless to the grouud. He was borne from the chamber by his 
sons Tostig and Harold, and after a few days' extreme agony, expired. 

By Norman writers, whose enmity to his house of course induced mis- 
representation, and who delight in striking scenes, the story of Earl God- 
win's death has been differently related. According to them one of the 
royal cupbearers, when presenting wine, happened to stumble with one 

1 Saxon Chronicle, William of Malmesbury, &c. 2 Saxon Chronicle 



452 ED IT HA. 

foot and saved himself from falling with the aid of the other, on which 
Godwin exclaimed : "Thus brother helps brother." Edward, from whose 
mind no asseverations, public or private, could efface the impression of 
Godwin's guilt, looked sternly at him and said : " Yes — and had Alfred 
lived, so might he have helped me." Godwin, indignant at the imputed 
charge, replied : " I know that you still suspect me of your brother's 
murder, but may God, who is true and just, not permit this morsel of 
bread to enter my throat without choking me if he suffered death or 
injury from me or by my counsel." 

Having said this, the King blessed the bread, but the instant the Earl 
put it in his mouth, it choked him. 1 " Thus," adds the chronicler, "did 
Providence expose and punish the traitor and murderer." 

If such a scene really took place, no doubt the passion of Godwin on 
finding that, under whatever circumstances they met, Edward persisted in 
casting the same crime in his teeth, was the cause of the apoplexy which 
seized him on the instant. Such events have been frequent when persons 
are violently excited, particularly after being heated at an entertainment 
in times when conviviality was carried to excess. 

Godwin was so little a friend to the Church, and Edward was so com- 
pletely the tool of Churchmen, that it naturally follows that the former 
should suffer in the report of those historians who look upon Edward as 
a saint. The death of the Earl happened at an unfortunate juncture, and 
great was the lamentation throughout England for the great "Child of 
Sussex," as he was called. 2 

Probably, if Edward had dared to do so, the family of the man he 
detested would again have suffered from his violence ; but the times were 
altered, and all he could do was now to secure himself and endeavour to 
settle the succession on those nearest him in blood. He sent, therefore, 
to the Emperor, Henry III., at Cologne, requesting that the son of 
Edmund Ironside, whom he protected, and who had married his niece, 
might come over to him in England. After some delay, the Prince ac- 
cordingly arrived with his wife Agatha and his children, Edgar Atheling, 
Margareta, and Christina, but he died almost directly after, suddenly, in 
London. 

Meantime, Harold, the son of Godwin, was fighting against the usurper 
Macbeth, of famous memory, in the North, and succeeded to the Earl- 
dom of Siward of Northumberland, in whose cause he had drawn the 

' Saxon Chronicle, 1053, 15th April. 

2 The famous Godwin, or Goodwin, Sands, formerly part of the Earl's domain, 
off the coast of Kent, lie between the North and South Foreland ; and, as they 
run parallel with the coast for three leagues together, at about two leagues and 
a half distant from it, they add to the security of that spacious road, the Downs; 
for, while the land shelters ships with the wind from south-west to north-west 
only, these sands break all the force of the sea, when the wind is at east-south-east. 
The most dangerous wind, when blowing hard off the Downs, is the south-south- 
west. — Ency. Brit. 

The lands were given to the Monastery of St. Augustine at Canterbury, and 
the Abbot, neglecting to keep in repair the wall that defended them from the sea, 
the whole tract was drowned in the year 1100, leaving these sands so great, yet 
so fatal a safeguard to the coast. 



EDITH A. 453 

sword. A long series of contentions occupied him till after tranquillity 
was temporarily restored, be set out for Normandy on the errand which 
threw him into the intimacy of Duke William, so fraught with conse- 
quences to himself and England. 

Whether any change came over the spirit of Queen Editha, after the 
calamity of losing her father, and whether she conceived it necessary to 
exercise a rigour and vigilance which appeared hitherto foreign to her 
nature, 1 it is difficult to determine; but she has been accused of abandon- 
ing her accustomed mildness, and acting with cruelty about this time. 
Most probably the acts of which she is accused should rather be attributed 
to her brothers, Tosti or Harold, who then swayed Northumberland. It 
appears that certain retainers of a Northumbrian chief were murdered iu 
the court of Edward, and " the Queen's orders" are cited as giving sanc- 
tion to the fact. " Even this fair rose was stained with blood," 2 says an 
annalist; but it does not follow that she is guilty of more than severity, 
dictated by the representations of her brothers. The alleged treachery 
of Tostig has not been confuted, and this act was, doubtless, but a feature 
of the tragedy in which he performed. 

Tosti having allured some Northumbrian nobles to his own chamber, 
in his palace at York, under pretence of concluding a peace, had caused 
them to be assassinated. These atrocities, and the imposition of a severe 
tax, caused the Northumbrians to arm against the Government. Tostig 
was surprised at York, and escaped by flight : his treasures and armory 
were pillaged, and two hundred Danish and English guards, with their 
leaders, Amund and Ravensworth, being made prisoners, were led out of 
the city and massacred in cold blood on the north bank of the Ouse. 
Morcar and Edwin were placed by the insurgents at their head; they 
were met byrHarold, who, having inquired into their demands, obtained 
the King's assent to them. These were to confirm the laws of Canute, 
and appoint Morcar Earl of Northumberland. Tostig, dissatisfied at this 
peace, repaired to Bruges, the usual asylum of his family. 3 

The establishment of chaplains in the royal household is of very ancient 
date, and even in the Pagan times we find priests attendant on their regal 
patrons. Editha and her brother Harold had their chaplains. Walther, 
afterwards Bishop of Hereford, filled this office with the Queen ; he was 
appointed to that see, and an instrument issued for the temporalities of 
Hereford in the year 1060, having previously been consecrated at Rome, 
together with Aldred, Archbishop of York, and Gisa, Bishop of Wells, 
the King's chaplain (April 4th, 1059). 

Gisa was, as well as Walther, a native of Lorraine, and is said to have 
been treated with the utmost consideration by Queen Editha. It appears 
that, when Harold, Earl of Wessex, was banished by Edward, the King 
bestowed his possessions on the Church of Wells. Harold afterwards 
made a piratical descent in those parts, and having raised contributions 
among his former tenants, despoiled the church of its ornaments, drove 
away the canons, invaded their possessions, and converted them to his own 

1 Rapin. * Turner, Holinshed. 3 Holinshed, Lingard, &c. 



454 ED IT HA. 

use.' In vain had Gisa, who, on entering into his new diocese, found 
the church -"states in a sad condition, expostulated with his royal patron 
on this outrageous usage, but the more generous and considerate Editha, 
bestowed on Gisa the manors of Mark and Mudgley as in part compensa- 
tion for the injuries his bishopric had sustained through her brother's 
depredations. Harold, 2 on being restored to favour, procured Gisa's ban- 
ishment, and still later, when on the throne, he resumed the estates of 
which he had formerly been deprived. That William the Conqueror 
'recalled Gisa from exile, and with some trivial exceptions, restored to the 
Church of Wells all Harold's estates, was one of the many proofs he gave 
,of his respect for Queen Editha, that prelate's generous benefactress. 

Of the King's Chamberlain, or Thane of the Bower, " Bar-Theyn," an 
incident is on record, which gives a trait of Edward's character, more 
simple than just, and more good-natured than prudent; this officer was 
the appointed Keeper of the King's purse, and bore the name of Hugo- 
line. " It chanced that Edward was lying in bed, and, as it appears, in 
the daytime, when the chamberlain came in and busied himself about the 
chest which held the King's money, either putting somewhat in, or taking 
somewhat out; and then he quitted the room, forgetting to lock the 
chest. The King saw him, and so did the little scullion-boy, who, fully 
persuaded that the Confessor was asleep, crept softly to the tempting 
hoard, and filling his bosom with the gold, he softly stole away. The 
King saw him, but said naught. Having safely deposited his acquisition, 
he ventured a second time into the King's chamber, made a second at- 
tempt, and was equally successful. The King saw him, but said naught. 
A third time he approached the hoard, and then Edward, alarmed, not 
for the safety of the money, but for the safety of the thief, exclaimed, 
' Have a care, boy, and be off with what thou hast; for if Hugoline finds 
thee out, not a penny will he leave thee !' " 

The lord chamberlain still displays the "key," as the token of the 
office. 3 

In 1062, Editha assisted at the dedication of Waltham Abbey. The 
estate of Waltham, which had devolved on the crown, had been bestowed 
by Edward the Confessor on his brother-in-law Harold, with a consider- 
able grant of land. Harold rebuilt or enlarged the monastery, for the 
purpose of keeping a holy cross, said to have been miraculously brought 
thither, and richly endowed it as a college for a dean and eleven secular 
black canons. In King Edward's Charter of Confirmation, dated 1062, 
it is stated that Harold having founded a monastery to the holy faith, the 
King caused it to be honourably dedicated according to the due form and 
order of a holy church of God, "in the remembrance," so it is expressed, 
" of me and my wife, named Editha," for the founder himself, his father 
and mother, and for all related to him in consanguinity, whether living 

1 Collinson's Somersetshire. 

a Leofgar, chaplain of Harold, preceded Walther in the see of Hereford, and 
had scarcely become a bishop when he forsook his chrism and rood, his spiritual 
weapons, and took to his spear and sword, and so going to the field against 
Griffith, the Welsh King, was slain, together with many of his priests. 

* Palgrave. 



ED IT HA. 455 

or dead ; and Harold bestowed seventeen lordships on this foundation, 
all which King Edward, to redeem his own and his predecessor's sins, 
confirmed to the Abbey, free of all suit and service, and with ample 
privileges, which he signed and sealed with the holy cross himself, 
together with his Queen Editha, and fifty-six of his great men. An 
immense number of rich and precious gifts were also bestowed by the 
noble founder on the Abbey. 1 In the Royal Charter appear the names 
of Stigand, Archbishop of Dover, and Harold, to which are added those 
of the King and Queen. 2 

The leisure of King Edward was divided between prayer and the 
chase ; the latter always a favourite pastime with our Saxon monarchs. 
At Brill, in Buckinghamshire, was a palace to which King Edward 
would frequently resort that he might have the pleasure of hunting in 
Bernwood Forest. At that time the forest was much infested by a wild 
boar, which at length was fortunately slain by a huntsman of the name 
of Nigel. This person the King rewarded for his service by a grant of 
some lands, which he was to hold by a horn, a mode of livery common in 
those days, and of which an instance has already been given in this 
volume. "On the land thus given Nigel built a large manor-house, 
called Borestall, or Borstall, in memory of the event through which he 
obtained possession." This estate has descended in uninterrupted suc- 
cession, by several heirs female, from the family of Nigel to that of Au- 
brey, and the original horn by which it was conveyed to the former is in 
the possession of Sir John Aubrey, Bart, as well as a folio volume, com- 
posed about the reign of Henry the Third, containing transcripts of 
papers relating to the manor, with a rude delineation of the site of Bor- 
stall House and its contiguous lands, beneath which is the figure of a man 
on one knee, presenting a boar's head on the point of a sword to the King, 
who is returning him a coat of arms. The horn is of a dark brown colour, 
variegated and veined like tortoise-shell ; the ends are tipped with silver, 
and fitted with wreaths of leather to hang round the neck." 3 

Edward the Confessor built also for himself, in Essex, in a well-wooded 
locality, which from its solitude was suited to devotion, a goodly residence, 
or hunting-seat, known by the name of Have-he-Ring, or Take-the-Ring, 
as it would be rendered in modern English ; at the time he resided there 
— whether alone or with the Queen, is not recorded — being, as it is said, 
troubled in his devotions by the sound of the nightingales, he humbly 
besought from God their absence, from which time forward " the song of 
the bird" was never more heard, except beyond the pales of his park, 
where, as in other places, they would abundantly resort. 4 Of Havering 
this legend is on record : — An aged pilgrim, from Jerusalem, solicited 
alms from King Edward, who, his almoner not being present, drew a ring 
from his finger, and presented it to the mendicant. This ring was after- 

1 Ogborne's Essex. a Fuller's History of Waltharn. 

* Britton and Brayley. This curious plan and a representation of the horn 
have been engraved in the third volume of the Archneologia, whence many of the 
above particulars were derived. 

4 Camden. 



456 EDITH A. 

wards returned by the pilgrim to certain Englishmen, in the East, to be 
restored to King Edward, with this message, that he had given it to St. 
John the Evangelist, who sent it back to him to inform him of the day 
on which it was appointed that he should die : the day named was Janu- 
ary 5th, 1062. Accordingly, in passing through Westminster Cloisters 
into the Dean's Yard, you may see the King and Pilgrim cut in stone 
over the gate. 1 It is said that when the King received the pilgrim's 
message, he was taken ill, that he distributed his wealth to the poor, and 
prepared himself for the close of his earthly career. One subject, how- 
ever, had for a long time pressed on the mind of the monarch ; the com- 
pletion of that grand undertaking, the Abbey of St. Peter's, Westminster. 
Edward had determined that the church should be dedicated in the most 
solemn and impressive manner, and for that purpose had convened a 
general assembly of all the bishops and great men in the kingdom, to be 
witnesses of the ceremony. It was the last Christmas festival which the 
pious monarch was destined to celebrate, memorable to his own and suc- 
ceeding ages by the fact of this consecration and opening of an edifice, 
the building of which had occupied his entire reign. A splendid fes- 
tival was to be held in the adjoining palace, to which all the nobles were 
invited. 

On the vigil of Christmas the King was attacked by the fever, which 
ultimately proved fatal. 2 For the three following days he combatted the 
violence of the disease by a firmness and affected cheerfulness, which 
were shown in his holding his court as usual, and presiding at the royal 
banquet. 3 

The festival of the Innocents 4 was that which had been fixed on for 
the dedication of the new church, that edifice which had been so long and 
anxiously superintended during its progress by the monarch. When the 
day arrived, Edward was unable to quit his chamber, but would not delay 
the ceremony on that account. In the absence of her husband, it was the 
delegated office of Queen Editha to take charge of the decorations, and 
become his representative ; — " providing all, arranging all, superintending 
all, she acted for both King and Queen." 5 On the same day the grand 
Convention was held, in the chamber of the doomed King, for the pur- 
pose of signing his great charter of donations, the third which had been 
bestowed. 6 The King, Queen, two archbishops, ten bishops, and many 
of the abbots and nobility, were present on the occasion. The earliest 
charter bears the date of 1045, and has the signatures of the King, the 
Queen, and the King's mother, Emma of Normandy, whose name, as 
before, precedes that of the Queen. 

Some have asserted that Edward really was present at the solemn 
pageant of the dedication of the new abbey, and that he was taken ill 
immediately after it was over, and removed from the abbey to his bed ; 
but others maintain a contrary opinion, and say that the fact of the 
King's absence, and the idea of danger in his condition of health, neces- 

1 Hearne, Caxton. a Lingard. 3 Dart's Westminster. 

* December 28. s Twysden. 6 Dart's Westminster. 



EDITH A. 457 

sarily suggested in consequence, threw a deep gloom over the thousands 
who had assembled to witness the spectacle. 

Edward lingered for a week longer in his sufferings. His death took 
place on the 5th of January, 10G6, at "Westminster, and the chamber in 
which he expired still remained in Camden's time, "close to Sir Thomas 
Cotton's House." The following account of the deathbed of the saintly 
monarch is from Caxton's Golden Legende : — 

" Among the persons who surrounded the death-bed of Edward, were 
the Queen, Duke Harold, Robert, keeper of the palace, and Stigand. 
This last gave no credence to the prophetic words uttered by Edward, 
concerning the approaching disasters of the country, and, ascribing it to 
the King's age and feebleness, made it out to be a phantasy; but others 
present wept, sorrowed, and wrung their hands. Edward, perceiving his 
hour drew nigh, spoke to them that stood weeping about him, and in 
comforting them, said, ' Forsooth, if ye loved me ye would pray that I 
should pass from this world to the Father of Heaven, there to receive the 
joy which is promised to all true Christian men : put ye away your 
weeping, and speed forth my journey with prayers and holy psalms, and 
with alms-deeds. For though my enemy, the Fiend, may not overcome 
me in my faith, yet there is none found so perfect but he will assay, and 
tempt to let or to fear him.' When he beheld the Queen, and saw her 
weep and sigh, he said to her oftentimes, ' My daughter, weep not, for I 
shall not die, but I shall live, and shall depart from the land of death, I 
believe, to see the goodness of God in the land of life.' And then he 
set his mind all on God, and gave himself wholly to the faith of the 
Church, in the hope and promises of Christ, under the sacraments of the 
Church. He commended the Queen to her brother in praising her good- 
ness and virtue unto his lords, and declared to them their mode of life. 
1 For she was to him in open places as his wife, and in secret places as 
his sister.' ' And he commanded, also, that her dowry should be made 
sure to her; and that they that came with him out of Normandy should 
be put to their choice, whether they would abide still in England, and be 
endowed with livelihood after their degree, or else return again into Nor- 
mandy with a sufficient reward ; and he chose his place for his own sepul- 
ture in the Church of St. Peter, which he had newly builded. And 
among words of praising, he yielded up his spirit to God in the year of 
our Lord 1066." 

The last wishes of the Confessor were strictly observed, and his remains 
deposited before the high altar in the Church of St. Peter's, Westminster, 
the funeral obsequies being attended by those very nobles he had himself 
invited to the solemn dedication of that sacred edifice: 2 the royal inter- 

' Ailred. 

4 Robert of Gloucester, who says he died on the 4th and was buried on the 12th, 
thus notices the obsequies of Edward: — "With Edward the happiness of the 
English expired, liberty perished, and all vigour was inhumed. At his exequies, 
bishops and a multitude of priests and ecclesiastics, with dukes, earls, and gov- 
ernors, assembled together. A crowd of monks went thither, and innumerable 
bodies of people flew hastily to his funeral. Here psalms resound, there sighs 
and tears burst out; everywhere joy and grief commixed, are carried to the 
39 



458 EDITH A. 

merit took place on Twelfth Day, as some say, the day following that of 
the dedication of the abbey. As soon as Edward's mortal remains were 
placed in the tomb, " the same Witan which had met to consecrate the 
abbey, ' proceeded to elect their new king. In this crisis, Harold, Earl 
of Wessex, the Queen's brother, took possession of the crown, which 
King Edward is said to have, previously to his death, granted him, and 
he was now consecrated King, " on the Twelfth Day," the day of the 
royal funeral, putting on his own head the insignia of his new dignity, 
at Lambeth. While this powerful noble maintained his authority as 
King, Editha's position as Queen Dowager was doubtless respected. 

Editha's estates were very numerous, and scattered about in nearly 
every county of England, so that her generous mind had many opportu- 
nities of exercising private as well as public beneficence. Even after the 
Conquest, Queen Editha appears to have possessed, in some instances, the 
right of transferring her property : she is mentioned in Domesday, as 
having bestowed several parcels of land, in dower, upon one Ailsi, who 
had married the daughter of Wluard, probably one of her attendants, 
and also as having granted eight hides of land at Firle, in Sussex, to the 
foreign abbey of G-reystein. Editha was, in general a great benefactress 
to the Church, and especially to Sarum; a grant was made by her, after 
she became a widow, to the Church of St. Mary. The following extract 
is copied from the records in the Bodleian Collection, of that act of royal 
munificence : " I, Editha, relict of King Edward, give to the support 
of the canons of St. Mary's Church, in Sarum, the lands of Sceorstan, 
in Wiltshire, and those of Forinanburn, to the Monastery of Wherwell, 
for the support of the nuns serving God there, with the rights thereto 
belonging, for the soul of King Edward." 2 

It has been asserted by some, that Editha was permitted by the Nor- 
man Conqueror to retain peaceably all her possessions for life, and that 
on her decease they reverted to the Crown. This is not, however, a cor- 
rect statement, as some years before the death of Editha, King William 
despoiled her of all her rich territories, and amongst the number Martock 
and Chewton Mendip, which were in the King's hands at the time of the 
Norman survey. 3 When the survey was taken, the Earl of Brittany had 
also seventy-eight hides of land in his own possession, and ninety hides 
held under him, all of which had belonged to the widowed Editha. 4 
Among other possessions, of which the Queen was deprived by William, 
was the Manor of Kichmond, in the parish of Cambridge, which had 
formed a part of her large dowry, the whole of which was given by the 
Norman King to Alan, Earl of Brittany and Richmond. 5 Martock, in 
Somersetshire, which had been taken by King William from Queen 
Editha, was given to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, who had married Goda, 
Edward the Confessor's sister. Twiverton, in Somersetshire, is thus 

church , ana that temple of chastity, that dwelling of virtue (the King) is hon- 
ourably interred in the place appointed by himself." 

1 Dart's Westminster Abbey. * Philipp'e Account of Old Sarum. 

» Collinson. ' Lysons's Cambridge. * Idem. 



ED IT HA. 459 

named in Domesday Book : " This land Alfred held of Queen Eddid. 
Now the Bishop holds it of the King, as he says." 

The supposed generosity of William, if at all shown towards Editha, 
does not appear to have extended to her mother Githa, Godwin's widow, 
who, through fear of so powerful an enemy, quitted England in 10G8, an 
affliction, doubtless, deeply felt by her daughter. Githa, who was im- 
mensely rich, and at this time much advanced in years, had survived the 
deaths of her five gallant sons, all slain in the battle-field ; she had before 
that been, as it would appear, a spectator of the catastrophe which de- 
prived her husband of life ; and after beholding Editha, her daughter, 
during eighteen years a queen in dignity, but a melancholy and unloved 
wife, witnessed her contented retirement to the condition of private life. 
The ambition of Harold, and his subsequent defeat and death, were her 
crowning sorrows ; and after living two years in continual fear of King 
William, .Githa retired to St. Omers, where her daughter Gunilda had 
assumed the religious veil, or to Bruges, where, it appears, that lady died 
in 1087 ; a fact ascertained by an epitaph discovered some years since, in 
the church in which Gunilda's remains were deposited. No sooner had 
the widow of Godwin departed from England than William the Con- 
queror seized on her immense landed possessions, amounting to 39,600 
acres, 1 and distributed them among his Norman followers. 

Queen Editha survived her husband nine years, spent principally at 
Winchester. During her residence there, she is said to have been a spec- 
tator of the procession to the Cathedral, when Walker was about to be 
consecrated Bishop of Durham, which drew from her the remark, " We 
have here a noble martyr!" So affected was she by the sight of that 
excellent prelate's appearance, with his snow-white hair, rosy countenance, 
and extraordinary stature ; for her previous experience of the mutinous 
disposition of the people over whom he was about to preside, led her to 
fear his fate ; so literally was this reflection of the Queen fulfilled that it 
was looked upon, by those who were acquainted with her piety, as a 
miraculous prediction, for, in 1080, six years after the death of Editha, 
Walker was severely maltreated by the Northumbrians, and, at length, 
put to death by them. 2 

Editha expired at Winchester, as is supposed, in the Abbey of St. 
Mary, about a week before Christmas, in the year 1074 ; 3 in her last mo- 
ments, she solemnly affirmed, she had lived during the eighteen years of 

1 Some few years before the invasion of this country by the Normans, Gueda, 
■wife of Godwin, Earl of Kent, in expiation of her husband's treacherous abuses 
of divers monastic institutions, had bestowed the Manor of Crowcoinbe, in Som- 
ersetshire, on the church of St. Swithin, at Winchester, in pure and perpetual 
alms ; but amongst other depredations which took place at the coming in of the 
Conqueror, this manor was seized, and fell a sacrifice to private property, King 
William presenting it to his favourite, the Earl of Morton. — Collinson's Somer- 
setshire. 

a AVilliam of Malmesbury. 

3 Neale says 1073 was the date of this Queen's death, and that it took place on 
the 15th of the Calends of January, eight years after that of her husband. Roger 
of Wendover says the date was 1074. 



460 E D I T II A . 

her union, as though no such tie had existed ; ' in consequence of which 
asseveration, the following epitaph was composed in Latin for this Queen. 
" She sprung of an ancient house, lived godly, entered into marriage a 
chaste virgin, and into heaven a chaste spouse." 2 

If William the Conqueror did not spare Queen Editha's possessions in 
her lifetime, he showed much honour to that Queen after death, and the 
title of Regina was assigned to her in almost every entry of her name in 
the Domesday Book. William took care that the funeral obsequies of 
Editha should be performed in a manner befitting her royal dignity : 3 by 
his orders the Queen's remains were removed with every royal honour 
from Winchester to Westminster, having been previously placed in a 
coffin covered with plates of silver and gold ; on their arrival they were 
deposited by the side of St. Edward the Confessor. 

A splendid tomb or shrine "of delicately wrought gold and silver, and 
of admirable beauty," was soon afterwards erected at the express com- 
mand of William over the remains of the royal pair. That they had one 
common tomb appears from the charter granted on this occasion, in which 
King William, after bestowing one hundred pounds of silver to complete 
the building of the abbey, adds : " From respect of the great love which 
I had for the renowed King Edward himself, I have caused the tomb of 
him, and his queen placed beside him, to be marvellously overlaid with 
smith's work of artificial beauty in gold and silver." 

Not long after the offering made by King William at the tomb of St. 
Edward, miracles were said to be wrought there, of which the first was 
when Wulstan, bishop of Worcester, was required by the Conqueror to 
resign his see. The prelate answered that he had received his staff from 
St. Edward, and would resign it to him alone. Going to his tomb, 
Wulstan struck it with his staff, which adhered to it; nor could it be 
separated by any prayers or hands than those of the prelate, its owner. 

Edward the Confessor was canonized by Pope Alexander the Third, 
A. D. 1161, at the solicitation of King Henry the Second, who was induced 
to request this by his favourite, Thomas h Becket; and it was appointed 
that St. Edward's festival should be kept throughout England on the 5th 
of January, and his translation on the 13th of October; this last being 
to commemorate the solemn translation of the King's body on that day, 
about two years from the date of his canonization, and its removal into a 
higher tomb, which had been prepared for it by the English monarch's 
directions, a new shrine being also made on the occasion at the request 
of Becket. 4 Upon opening the coffin, which was then done with much 
solemnity at midnight, the body of the King was found incorrupt, and 
his dress was taken off as a precious relic, and made into three embroid- 
ered copes by Abbot Lawrence ; also the ring that had been given to St. 
John the Evangelist was taken off and given to the abbey. The royal 
corpse was afterwards re-wrapped up and deposited in its new tomb, 
October 13th, 1163, in presence of King Henry the Second, St. Thomas 
h Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and many bishops, abbots, and 

1 Holinshed, William of Malmesbury, Neale. 3 Gough. 

* Malmesbury. * Brit. Sancta. 



E D I T H A . 461 

persons of distinction, who fittest the incorrupt state in which the royal 
remains and the garments in which they rested were found. 1 On that 
same day a book of St. Edward's life and miracles, written by Ailred, 
Abbot of Rievaulx, in Yorkshire, was dedicated and presented to King 
Henry the Second, and at the same time a bull was issued by Pope Inno- 
cent the Fourth to settle the ceremonial of the anniversary of the festival 
of St. Edward. 2 

When the church was rebuilt the remains of the Queen of Edward the 
Confessor were transferred from the north to the south side of St. Ed- 
ward's shrine, and Henry the Third ordered that a lamp should be kept 
burning perpetually over the tomb of Queen Editha " the Good." 

1 The surname of Confessor was given to St. Edward from the bull of his canon- 
ization issued by Pope Alexander, about a century after his death. — Lingard. 

2 In 1247, King Henry III. received a present from the Knights Templars in 
the Holy Land (attested by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and other bishops of that 
country) of a small portion of the blood of our Saviour shed at the Crucifixion. 
On the anniversary of King Edward's translation, October 13th, King Henry went 
in person, on foot, in solemn procession, from St. Paul's to Westminster Abbey, 
carrying this gift in a crystal vessel, elevated above his head, under a canopy, his 
arms supported by priests, attended by his nobility, who had been summoned on 
this occasion, with bishops, abbots, monks, and an innumerable multitude of per- 
sons, and offered it to God, St. Peter, and Edward the Confessor. The Bishop of 
Norwich celebrated high mass on this occasion, and pronounced on all attending 
the solemnity one hundred and forty days' indulgence. A sumptuous feast was 
also given at the adjoining palace. In 1297, King Edward I., to show his respect 
for his namesake-saint, offered at his shrine in Westminster, the chair, sceptre, 
and crown of gold of the Scottish kings. — Brit. Sane. 

After the coi-onation of King James II. the tomb of Edward the Confessor re- 
ceived some damage by an accident. The coffin, being of wood, bound with iron, 
was broken into a hole about six inches by four, near the right breast of the 
corpse, which was examined by Mr. Taylor on St. Barnabas's Day, 1685, by put- 
ting his hand into the chasm and drawing from under the shoulder-bones a crucifix, 
richly enamelled and gilt, on it the figure of Christ crucified, and an eye above 
casting a ray on him. On the reverse, a Benedictine monk, and on each side of him 

A P 

these Roman capitals : — on the right limb, Z A X ; on the left, A C. The 

A H 

cross was hollow, as if to enclose some relic ; the upright part four inches, the 
transverse three. This was attached to a chain of pure gold, twenty-four inches 
long, the links oblong and curiously wrought, the upper joined by a locket composed 
of -massy knobs of gold, and on each side were set two large red stones, sup 
rubies. The examiner drew the head to the hole, and found it sound and firm, 
as were also the teeth and a list of gold, about an inch broad, surrounding the 
temples. There were also white linen and gold-coloured flowered silk, that fell 
to pieces on being touched. These were shown to the Dean of Westminster, 
Dr. Dolben, Archbishop of York, and Dr. Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
and at length deposited with the Kiug, and the coffin secured with a new one 
bmind in iron. 



39 



EDITHA "THE FAIR." 

The father of Editha — Godiva, wife of Leofric — Wealth and power of the Earl of 
Coventry — The famous legend considered — Leofric's munificence to the Church 
— The lines in the painted window — Godiva's donation of gems and goldsmith's 
work to Coventry Abbey — Algar, the father of Editha the Fair, flies to Wales — 
Marries his daughter to the Welsh Prince, Griffith ap Llewellyn — Nest, his 
first wife — Her sons — Griffith ap Conan and his wife Angharaud — Violent con- 
tentions of the Welsh and English— Restoration of Algar — Harold pursues the 
Welsh — Defeats them — Lays siege to and burns Ruddlan Castle — Editha the 
Fair taken prisoner — Death of Griffith — Harold marries his widow — Here- 
ford destroyed and re-fortified — Harold's pillars — His breach of promise to 
Adeliza — Harold becomes King — The battle of Hastings — The search for the 
body — Editha the Swan-necked — The Recluse of Chester — Eddeva Dives — 
Her possessions seized by the Conqueror — Stortford in Hertfordshire — The 
tomb discovered. 

Editha the Fair was the daughter of Algar, the third Earl of Ches- 
ter and Coventry, and grand-daughter of Leofric the Third, husband of 
Godiva, so famous in traditional story .^ The title of Earl of Warwick 
and Earl of Leicester were more than once borne by the noble represen- 
tatives of this family, but they are more commonly spoken of as Earls 
of Mercia. 

Godiva, the grandmother of Editha, appears to have been sister of 
the first Queen of Ethelred the Unready ; both were daughters of Earl 
Thorold, Sheriff of Lincolnshire, the founder of Spalding Abbey. Leo- 
fric was a warlike and powerful chief, who, in 1057, led an army in de- 
fence of Ethelred against the Danish King, Sweyn. 1 

The great wealth and power of Leofric, and the liberality of both him- 
self and his wife Godiva to the Church, secured them the good repute 
of the monkish chroniclers. Perhaps the legendary tale of Godiva's 
ride through the silent streets of Coventry is not altogether a poet's fic- 
tion : the manners of the time were still rude and coarse, and a penance 
of any sort for the good of the Church was considered a worthy act. 
That Leofric granted many advantages to the city of Coventry, to bis 
benevolent consort's prayers, is very probable ; and in memory of the 

1 Some years ago the seal of the Earl of Mercia, Alfric or Leofric, was dis- 
covered in digging a bank near Winchester, and was found to bear the following 
inscription: — "+ Sigillum Alfric Al." The figure exhibited on the seal holds 
the sword with which the earls were installed in their new dignity. The head 
of Alfric is also encircled with a diadem similar to that borne by King Ethelred 
on his coins, — a proof of his high dignity. This noble was among the first to 
assent to the tribute called the Danegelt. 

(462) 



EDITH A II. 463 

delivery of the citizens from oppressive enactments, the effigies of Leofric 
and Godiva were long to be seen in a window in the old church of Tri- 
nity, at Coventry, in which the Earl holds in his hand a charter, inscribed 
with lines which might have given rise to the legend — 

" I, Leurich, for love of thee 
Doe make Coventry toll free." 

Godiva, on her own account, was a great benefactress to the city, and be- 
stowed much wealth on the monastery there, which had been founded by 
Leofric and Godwin jointly. She showered on the monks jewels and 
ornaments, " having sent for skilful goldsmiths, who, with all the gold 
and silver she had, made crosses, images of saints, and other decorations." 
The value of the jewels bestowed on Coventry Abbey are said to be 
inestimable ; and on her death-bed the Countess bequeathed a precious 
circlet of gems, which she wore round her neck, valued at one hun-dred 
marks of silver (about 2000Z. of our money), to the image of the Vir- 
gin in Coventry Abbey, praying that all who come thither would say as 
many prayers as there were gems in it ! ' 

Leofric died in 1057, and was succeeded in the Earldom of Mercia 
by his son Algar, whose family consisted of two sons, Edwin and Mor- 
car — names which occur frequently in the history of the continued 
struggles of the times — and of two daughters, Editha, sometimes called 
Edgifa, and Lucia. 

The year after his accession to the paternal inheritance, Algar was 
outlawed by King Edward, the Confessor, but soon afterwards he re- 
covered his earldom by the help of Griffith ap Llewelyn, King of Wales, 
and the Northmen. To return this well-timed favour, the hand of 
Editha, the beautiful daughter of Algar, was afterwards bestowed by the 
Earl on the Welsh king. 

Ranulf, or Nest, as she is more frequently called, was the first Queen 
of Griffith ap Llewelyn, and had borne to him three children, Meredith, 
Ithel, and Agnes. She was daughter of Alfred King of Man, and 
the Isles, and after the death of her first husband, a King of Ulster, had 
married Conan, king of North Wales, son of Jago ap Edwal. Her son 
by these second nuptials is known in history as Griffith ap Conan, and 
was born and educated at Dublin. This prince was a remarkable person 
in his times, and has been thus quaintly described : — " Griffith in his 
person was of moderate stature, having yellow hair, a round face, and a 
fair and agreeable complexion, eyes rather large, light eyebrows, a comely 
beard, a round neck, white skin, strong limbs, long fingers, straight legs, 
and handsome feet. He was, moreover, skilful in divers languages, 
courteous and civil to his friends, fierce to his enemies, and resolute in 
battle ; of a passionate temper, and fertile imagination." To him the 
Welsh people were indebted for a reform in their minstrels and national 
music. The mother and grandmother of Griffith being natives of Ire- 
land, " the land of harps and harmony," they derived from them some 
of the best tunes, better performers, and a higher order of instruments. 
This King also built castles and churches, planted trees, orchards and 

1 Saxon Chronicle, Fl. Wigorn, R. Wendover. 



464 ED IT HA II. 

gardens, and cultivated the soil. Maintaining peace with his neighbours, 
he appointed his sons guardians of the frontiers, and the petty princes 
repaired to his court for protection. 1 

The Welsh monk, to whom we are indebted for the Life of Griffith ap 
Conan, thus describes his Queen Angharaud, whose name is even at the 
present day held in honour in Wales : — " She was an accomplished per- 
son. Her hair was long and of a flaxen colour, her eyes large and roll- 
ing, and her features brilliant and beautiful. She was tall and well- 
proportioned, her leg and foot handsome, her fingers long, and her nails 
thin and transparent. She was good-tempered, cheerful, discreet, and 
witty ; gave advice, as well as alms, to her needy dependents, and never 
transgressed the laws of duty." 2 

Overtaken by blindness in his old age, Griffith devoted himself to reli- 
gion. Perceiving he was approaching the hour of dissolution, he sent 
for his sons, and gave his last directions, his Queen Angharaud being 
present. After a variety of bequests to the place of his birth and the 
churches he desired to advance, with those religious men who officiated 
in them, he bestowed his blessing on his sons, 3 foretelling the various 
fortunes of each, and the character he should support, enjoining them 
to combat their enemies with resolution and constancy, as he had him- 
self done to show them an example. To Angharaud he bequeathed one- 
half of his personal estates, with two portions in land, and the customs 
at Aber-menai. To his daughters and nephews, who were also present, 
he appointed a sufficient legacy for their maintenance. 4 At the time 
when Griffith ap Conan died, A. D. 1136, he had attained his eighty-second 
year : he was interred on the left side of the great altar at Bangor. 5 

At the period of Editha's marriage with the step-father of this Griffith 
he was very young; he was about fourteen when she was married to 
Harold, and with his half-brothers and sisters lived in state at the castle 
of Griffith ap Llewelyn, at Rhuddlau. 

1 Yorke's Royal Tribes of Wales ; Sebright MSS. Life of Griffith ap Conan. 

3 Angharaud's father was Owen ap Edwyn, Lord of Englefield ; her great- 
grandfather Grono was founder of the tribe which bore his name. The tribe 
which derived its origin from Griffith ap Conan was ranked the first of the five 
royal tribes of Wales. The fifteen common tribes were all of North Wales, and 
their respective representatives, forming the nobility, were lords of distinct 
districts, and always bore some hereditary office in the palace ; it being one of 
the laws of King Howel Dha that the Court of Wales should possess twenty-four 
great officers. 

3 Angharaud had a numerous family. Three sons bore the names of Owen, 
Cadwallader, and Oadwallo ; and five daughters, of whom one was married to 
Griffith ap Rhys, King of South Wales, one of the ancestors of Owen Tudor. This 
high-spirited princess, who was called "Gwenlian," a term equivalent to " white 
linen," heading an army in her husband's favour, was taken prisoner in the battle 
and put to death. Her sister Susanna married Madog ap Maredudd ; and Ma- 
ryed, the offspring of their union, espoused Jorwerth Drwyndurn, by whom she 
had Llewelyn the Great. — Yorke's Royal Tribes of Wales. 

4 Rhys, brother of Griffith, having been taken prisoner by the English in 1053, 
was, by Edward's orders, put to death at Balandune, and his head sent to the 
King, then holding his court at Gloucester. 

* Yorke's Royal Tribes of Wales. 



E D I T II A II. 465 

When Algar sought assistance from Griffith ap Llewelyn, the com- 
mander sent by King Edward against their united forces was Harold, 
who, destined afterwards to become the husband of the young bride of 
the Welsh king, was to the end of his career his most mortal foe. He 
pursued the Welsh into their mountain fastnesses, inured his soldiers to 
similar hardships as that hardy people, and spared no pains to conquer 
so resolute and so dangerous a foe to the English. 

Throughout Griffith's life, even after Algar had recovered his earldom 
by the tame acquiescence of King Edward, that prince never ceased at- 
tacking and annoying the country, out of which every precaution was 
taken in vain to keep him. Ruthless and savage, and glad of any ex- 
cuse to contend against England, Griffith was still fighting for Algar 
when they laid waste together the English borders, and approaching 
within two miles of Hereford, encountered Ranulf, Earl of Hereford, 
whom, with his forces, they put to flight. Having entered the city, they 
burnt the minster, and slew seven of the canons in their attempt to defend 
it, levelled the walls, and fired the city. Many noble persons were put 
to death by the combined armies, and others carried off captive, the con- 
querors returning into "Wales laden with their spoils. Harold's orders at 
this time were to assemble all the forces of the kingdom at Gloucester. 
At the head of the army the son of G-odwin advanced as far as Snowdon ; 
but hearing that Griffith and Algar had retreated into North Wales, he 
returned to Hereford, leaving a part of his army to keep the country in 
awe. He took this opportunity to rebuild the walls of Hereford and for- 
tify the city. Meantime he negotiated a peace with Griffith, which has 
been esteemed dishonourable to that prince. It stipulated that Algar 
should be freely pardoned, without making any compensation for the 
damages done or expenses caused by the war. On this the Earl returned 
to Chester, aud afterwards repaired to the court of Edward, from whom 
he obtained a confirmation of his pardon and dignity, A. D. 1058. 

Griffith, husband of Editha, afterwards openly violated the peace he 
had made with the King, by an inroad into Herefordshire, when the 
Bishop of Hereford was slain at Glastonbury, as well as the viscompte 
or sheriff of the county, and many other persons. Again, however, 
peace was restored by the mediation of Harold and the Earl of Mercia. 

In 1063, Algar, who had again forfeited, once more recovered his 
earldom. 

The patience of the Confessor having been at length exhausted by these 
repeated incursions, he determined to utterly subdue the rebellious Welsh ; 
aud once more employed the son of Godwin as his general. At the head 
of a large army, Harold arrived in North Wales, having taken his mea- 
sures with such expedition and good order, as nearly to surprise Griffith 
in his palace at llhuddlan. Scarcely had the Welsh king effected his 
escape, with a few attendants, to one of his own ships, which set sail 
instantly and placed him beyond the reach of his enemies, when Harold and 
the English appeared before his castle gates ; and such was the mortificatiou 
of Harold at his escape, that he burnt the royal residence, and set fire to 
every ship and vessel left in the harbour. If Editha, at this disastrous 
epoch, was the companion of Griffith's flight, she must soon after have 
2e 



466 EDITH A II. 

fallen into the hands of Harold. That chieftain returned to Bristol, where 
he fitted out a new fleet, and sailed round the Welsh coast. His brother 
Tostig, meanwhile, had marched into North Wales, where Harold landed, 
and they joined their forces for the final destruction of the unfortunate 
Welsh. These were driven out of their last retreats, and forced to sue 
for peace. Without their King, having no means of defence, and desti- 
tute of provisions, they could hold out no longer; they renounced their 
oath of allegiance to Griffith, and gave hostages to Harold for the secure 
payment of their ancient tribute. The triumphant Harold commemo- 
rated this occasion by erecting several stone pillars, each of which bore 
the pompous inscription, " Hie fuit victor Haroldus!" 1 

a. D. 1064. Griffith returned, the summer afterwards, to North 
Wales, where he landed, and endeavoured to raise a violent opposition to 
Harold, who was then in South Wales, part of which he had subdued. 
Some disaffection, however, had sprung up among the people, who, though 
fear had influenced them when they renounced their fealty in favour of 
the English, did not now welcome their King as he expected. Far from 
rallying under his standard, they listened to the instigations of Harold, 
and put their brave monarch to death, whose head, with the prow of the 
vessel in which he had returned, they sent to the son of Godwin. 2 " The 
idol of his people and terror of his enemies," as Griffith has been termed, 
fell thus ignominiously at the close of a thirty-four years' reign. He was 
renowned for his skill in government, ability in war, and those amiable 
manners which had commanded the affection of all who knew him. 

After Griffith's death, Harold married Editha the Fair; their nuptials 
took place A. D. 1065, 3 and on the chief quitting Wales, Editha accom- 
panied him as his wife. 

Harold had been married before, but the name of his first wife is un- 
known. On her death, he had contracted to marry Adeliza, one of the 
daughters of William the Conqueror, who had aimed thus to unite his 
family to one whom Edward, who was childless, designed as his successor. 
Harold, when he married Editha, and broke through his promise to Wil- 
liam, did it in the hope of strengthening his interest at home ; for by 
this match he bound the two powerful Earls, Edwin and Morcar, the 
brothers of Editha, and with them the English, their adherents, to 
espouse his cause, and from this time the son of Godwin openly aspired 
to the succession. Tostig, Harold's brother, had been so tyrannical in 
his rule over the Northumbrians, that they rebelled, and he was forced to 
fly. Edwin and Morcar had taken part in the insurrection, and the for- 
mer had been elected in the place of Tostig. Before the engagement, 
Morcar, knowing the generous temper of Harold, endeavoured to justify 
his own conduct, representing how unworthily Tostig had acted, and even 
urging that such conduct could not be supported even by a brother, with- 
out sharing in the infamy attached to it ; that the Northumbrians were 
williug to submit to Edward, but only under a leader who would respect 
their rights ; " that they had been taught by their ancestors, that death 

1 "William of Jumieges gives an account of Harold's victory in Wales. 

s Yorke's Royal Tribes of Wales, Warrington. 3 Ordericus Vitalis. 



ED I Til A II. 467 

was preferable to servitude, and had taken the field determined to perish 
rather than suffer a renewal of those indignities to which they had so long 
been exposed; and they trusted that Harold, on reflection, would not 
defend iu a brother that violent conduct from which he himself, in his 
own government, had always kept at so great a distance." This vigorous 
remonstrance was accompanied with such a detail of facts, and so well 
supported, that Harold found it prudent to abandon his brother's cause; 
and returning to Edward, he persuaded him to pardon the Northum- 
brians, and to confirm Morcar in the government. 1 This moderation 
gained the affections of the people. 

On the death of Algar, in 10G5, Edwin succeeded, through Harold's 
interest, to the earldom, and thus the two brothers had considerable 
authority in the country. 

Edward the Confessor, soon after dying, Harold, without any formality, 
snatched the crown of the realm, which he is said, like his predecessor, 
Harold Harefoot, to have put on his head with his own hands, at Lam- 
beth : he was afterwards crowned at St. Paul's. The ceremony 2 of 
Harold's coronation is one of the subjects represented on the Bayeux 
tapestry. In this celebrated specimen of female art, one man offers him 
the crown, another a battle-axe. Harold appears on bis throne, with the 
globe and cross in his left hand, and a sceptre in his right. On his right 
hand stand two men who are presenting to him a sword, and Stigand, 
the Archbishop, is standing on his left. The inscriptions are : ""Here 
they gave the crown to King Harold : here sits Harold, King of the 
English, Stigand Archbishop.' There is no mention made of Editha, 
but most likely she shared in the coronation honours. Harold, on some 
of his coins, is represented with a diadem of pearls which he bears on a 
helmet. Although Editha is not styled " Regina" in Domesday Book, 
her regal rank is proved not only by her immense possessions, but by 
her having a chaplain, and by her also having for a tenant " a man of 
noble birth." 3 

Editha must have been more than ordinarily remarkable for personal 
beauty. She is always termed "the most beautiful Editha:" 4 the 
Domesday Book calls her Eddeva " Pulchra," and Eddeva " Faera :" 
even the Normans attest her remarkable beauty. Throughout the 
Domesday Survey, Harold is never mentioned as king ; his wife, there- 
fore, would not be likely to be designated as a queen. Another reason 
for this omission is obvious. Harold had been contracted to the daugh- 
ter of William, and had broken his faith. The Conqueror could not 
forgive the insult, and would not acknowledge Harold or his wife to be 
legitimate heirs of the throne. Some writers say that William bitterly 
reproached Harold for his perfidy ; others state that the young Princess 

' Turner, Hume. a History of Lambeth Palace, Turner, Selden. 

3 Sir Henry Ellis, who says truly, that there was so short a time "between 
the battle of Hastings and the Conqueror's distribution of forfeited lands, that 
we cannot wonder to find every mention of a wife of Harold omitted in the 
Domesday returns." 

4 Jumiege. Saxon Chronicle. 



468 ED IT HA II. 

of Normandy was dead at the time when Harold espoused Editha the 
Fair. 

Under whatever circumstances Editha had become Queen of Harold, 
whether with or without her consent, after the death of her turbulent 
husband Griffith, to whom she was united by her father's policy, and who 
was much older than herself, she did not enjoy the regal honours of the 
English sway for more than a few months. Harold fell at Hastings 
within a year after his becoming king, and of all his glory and his valour 
nothing remained but a mangled corpse, sought for on the battle-field by 
two monks, who, unable to identify it, besought the aid of Editha the 
Fair, or the Swan-necked, — a personage about whom historians differ so 
widely, that it is impossible to pronounce positively whether she was the 
beautiful Queen herself, or a favourite of Harold's, whose beauty had 
gained her the same title as distinguished the consort of the monarch. 

The mother of Harold is said to have offered its weight in gold for her 
son's body, and every possible effort was made to discover it amongst the 
slain. If it had really been found, the legend could scarcely have 
existed of the unfortunate King having been borne by secret friends from 
the field, his wounds healed by their care, and becoming afterwards a 
solitary hermit in a cave on the banks of the Dee, near the Abbey of St. 
John's at Chester, disclosing at length, on his death-bed, the fact of his 
identity. Equally uncertain must be the story of Editha the Swan- 
necked finding his body. 

Queen Editha the Fair was at all events in London after the fatal 
battle, whither her brothers marched in great haste, to persuade the Lon- 
doners to advance them to the kingdom. Dreading the treatment their 
sister might receive from the hands of the Norman Conqueror, these Earls 
sent her from London to Chester,' which was a part of their own territories. 
Some say she was sent to West-Chester or Winchester. She resigned 
her regal rank from that time, and passed the rest of her life in obscurity. 
This prudent conduct did not, however, disarm the vengeance of William. 
"Eddeva Pulchra" was also known as " Eddeva Dives," from the 
great amount of her property; and the broad lands of the widowed 
Queen were seized by the successful Norman. These amounted to 27,600 
acres. 2 Her fee in Cambridgeshire alone 3 was considered of sufficient 
value to form part of the noble reward bestowed by William upon Alan, 
first Earl of Richmond; and thus deprived of her rich inheritance and 
possessions, the widow of Griffith and Harold was compelled to seek the 
cloister as an asylum for her closing existence, not only as a place of 
safety, but a means of securing even a subsistence. A talented authoress 
of our own times, 4 in writing of Queen Editha, states that " the convent 
to which she retired, the date of her death, her place of burial, are alike 
unknown ; and the record of her broad lands, and the fame of her beauty, 

• Holinshed, Domesday Book. 2 Holinshed, Florence of Worcester. 

3 Among these estates was the house and lands known by the name of Harold's 
Park. Harold received from his property in the manor of Waltham 36 J., in the 
time of King Edward the Confessor. — Ogborne. 

' Miss Lawrence- 



EDIT H A II. 469 

are all that now -remain to us of Editha the* Fair." One single line, 
however, preserved in Leland, informs us that the widow of Harold, after 
having lived through the greater part of the reign of William the Con- 
queror, deprived of regal dignity, stripped of lands and estates, the sur- 
vivor of her parents, of two husbands and brothers, and of her name- 
sake, Editha the Good, the widow of Edward closed a life of vicissitude 
and trial, in piety and peace, and was buried and worshipped as a saint, 
at Stortford, in Hertfordshire. 1 About twelve years ago, some workmen 
of that town, being employed in making preparations for an interment 
near the font of the church, came upon an ancient vault, exactly under- 
neath it, constructed of rubble, and supposed to be as old as the Saxon 
times. This vault is considered the repository of the last remains of 
Editha the Fair, wife of the Saxon King Harold. 

1 "S. Aldgytha sepulta est in Storteford." (St. Algitha was buried at Stort- 
ford.) — Leland. 



THE END. 



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